The Fox and the Flute
by Harbinger of Light
Summary: Tayuya survives her battle with Shikamaru and Temari. She is taken to Konoha for treatment and in exchange for protection from Orochimaru she supplies Konoha with info, and a certain blonde ninja shows her what it's like to care for another person. RT may change
1. Prologue: A Flash of Lightning

**A/N: This is my first Naruto fic and was inspired by the fic: ****The Melody of the Fox****, by Jetslinger. It is one of my favorite Naruto fics, but I was disappointed by the ending. That being said, there will be similarities to that story, but I will try to keep those to a minimum.**

**Disclaimer: Only saying it once; I do not own Naruto or any of the characters and concepts. If any Oc's appear, they are mine.**

_**The Fox and the Flute**_

_**Prologue: A Flash of Lightning  
**_

The Valley of the End had played host to an intense battle between two legendary shinobi in the past, and it had done so again this day for two Genin who would one day be seen as legendary themselves.

From the way the two viciously attacked one another with progressively greater power and techniques, one would never guess that these two thought of the other as their best friend, even as a brother.

The battle had shifted back and forth from one having the advantage to the other. But when the blonde Genin became wrapped in a cloak of red chakra in the vague shape of a fox, even the dark haired Genin's three tomoe Sharingan could not help him.

Realizing he was outmatched, the dark haired Genin activated the second stage of the seal at the base of his neck. His skin darkened slightly, his finger nails elongated into claws, his hair lengthened and became lighter in color, a black four-pointed star sat between his eyes, and the whites of his eyes turned black.

They exchanged a few words before the blonde charged at his friend; the slits that had become his pupils narrowed in anger, baring the fangs his canine teeth had become. They collided and a cloud of dust obscured them as they plowed their way through the stone of the valley wall until they collided with ankle of the giant carving of Madara Uchiha.

As the dust cleared the blonde gawked at the strange, hand-like thing that had shielded the other Genin from his attack. His eyes widened as it twitched before swiping him across the water where he collided with the ankle of the carving of the Shodai Hokage.

As he raised his head to look back at the other his eyes widened in shock. What he saw was a large webbed hand growing out of his friend's left shoulder blade. As he continued to gawk, a second appendage sprouted from the other shoulder, so that the pair resembled wings.

"Sasuke, you…" the blonde said in a horrified way.

Sasuke groaned in pain as he thought of something he had been told about using this power. At the same time, the blonde stood and looked at his left hand with a groan, realizing he couldn't feel it.

"For you…Using that power is risky, isn't it?" Sasuke asked with a small grin. When all he got was a glare in response, he gazed upward and began to speak, "Did you know? This place…is called the Valley of the End. Isn't this the perfect stage? Right, Naruto?"

Naruto remained silent as he turned to fully face Sasuke from across the water.

"That's right," Sasuke said after a small laugh, "I said the time for talk is over. This battle…Let's finish this now!" He exclaimed this last part with an almost sadistic look on his face. He crouched down, with his left hand positioned so it looked as if he would grasp the ground, and his right hand gripped his left wrist. He then shouted as lightning formed in his hand, "Chidori!"

Naruto flexed his right hand as a purple, spiraling sphere of chakra formed in it. As it finished forming he shouted, "Rasengan!"

Across the water, Sasuke's Chidori turned pure white with black arcs of electricity shooting from its surface. They both jumped from their spots on the opposing carvings at each other, their hands holding their attacks reared back in preparation to strike.

As they reached each other, they shouted simultaneously: "Chidori!" "Rasengan!"

They collided with immediate effects: the two attacks trying to drill through the other, chakra being blasted backwards from the two shinobi. Their blue and red chakra began to coil around each other, turning purple, and began to form a sphere around them. Sasuke redirected his attack at the last moment, piercing Naruto's chest instead of his throat. Naruto on the other hand aimed at Sasuke's forehead protector, slashing the symbol on it.

The sphere around them expanded and turned black as night, for several moments it obstructed the waterfall and caused further damage to the walls of the valley. Intricate, white lines spread over the sphere, starting at the center until the sphere turned completely white. Naruto and Sasuke were suspended in the center of the light, and locked eyes for a moment.

* * *

Kakashi and Pakkun ran as fast as they could through the forest, at first following Naruto's scent, but now Kakashi could easily follow the chakra both Naruto and Sasuke were emitting.

"I hope we're not too late," Kakashi said as he felt the chakra fading.

"It feels like the fight is ending," Pakkun said as they quickened their pace.

They then entered an area of the forest that looked like an army of lumberjacks had had a field day. As they saw this scene they slowed down a bit and Kakashi asked, "What the hell happened here?"

Pakkun sniffed the air and replied, "I can smell Shikamaru, that Sand kunoichi Temari, and one of the Sound shinobi…the Sound kunoichi."

"This must be where they fought her. The medic nin and ANBU will be here shortly, let's keep moving," Kakashi stated as they kept moving towards Naruto and Sasuke.

About halfway through the decimated area of the forest they stopped as they saw something moving up ahead. Two human arms emerging from between two fallen trees; they were grasping and pulling their way further out of the opening. After a few moments a beaten and battered girl with shoulder length red air emerged and limply fell to the ground once her legs were free of the tree above her.

Kakashi warily walked up to her to examine her condition; she was out cold, all of her remaining energy spent prying herself from her wooden tomb. "She must be the Sound kunoichi, she's barely alive," Kakashi stated to himself. He thought for a few moments before saying, "Pakkun, wait here for the ANBU. I want her taken back to Konoha alive, once there we can let Tsunade decide what should be done with her."

"Are you sure that's a good idea Kakashi?" Pakkun asked.

"She could provide valuable information on Orochimaru and his plans. I just have a feeling that she'll play an important role in the future, I can't explain why I think that," Kakashi replied as he looked back over at the girl who was somehow clinging to life.

"Alright…I'm not sure about this, but I'll make sure she gets to the Hokage," Pakkun stated as he sat beside the unconscious girl to wait for the ANBU to arrive with the medic nin.

"Good. I have to go now, been here too long as it is," Kakashi stated as he took off in the direction he could still faintly feel the Kyuubi's chakra that Naruto had emitted.

* * *

Naruto lay on his back on the rocky shore near the river, he was unconscious. Sasuke stood above him, looking down at his face solemnly. He made no motion to catch his forehead protector as the knot came undone and it fell from its place on his forehead. It landed next to Naruto, facing up so the scratch in the metal was displayed to the world.

As it started to rain softly, Sasuke's legs gave out after his curse mark pulsed painfully. He caught himself on his hands and knees, now face to face with an unconscious Naruto. He stayed like for several moments as the rain increased in strength. He then stood and looked at his forehead protector. He went to reach for it, but stopped and turned away. He silently walked away from his friend who he had come so close to killing.

* * *

Kakashi stopped on the head of the carving of the Shodai Hokage and looked down at the Valley of the End. His eyes widened as he took note of the amount of destruction Naruto and Sasuke's fight had caused.

"I'm too late, the fight is over," he said to himself angrily. He continued to survey the area until he saw a spot of orange on the shore of the river below. "Naruto!" he shouted as he quickly made his way down to his student.

As he stood looking at his student he asked himself, "Why did it have to come to this?" He then noticed Sasuke's forehead protector on the ground beside Naruto and picked it up. He then placed it on Naruto's stomach and picked him up.

"Forgive me Naruto…I was late again. Maybe I should try to be on time more," Kakashi said solemnly, masking his feeling of failing his students with slight humor. He looked around once more before saying, "Of all the places, the two of you fought here. I hope this doesn't mean your lives will be like theirs." As he said this he looked at the statues of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, the Shodai Hokage, the founders of Konoha who had battled in this very place so many years ago.

Kakashi didn't say another word as he made his way out of the valley and back towards Konoha. He only stopped once to see if Pakkun was still with the Sound kunoichi. Once he discovered that they were already gone he continued on his way.

* * *

Once back in Konoha, Kakashi immediately brought Naruto to the hospital to get his various injuries treated; he also assumed that Tsunade would be there overseeing the treatment of Shikamaru's team and the Sound kunoichi.

Kakashi stood on the side of Naruto's room as he was being treated, quietly observing. He looked over as the door opened revealing Tsunade who gestured for him to follow her. He silently followed her out of the hospital and to her office in the Administration building.

"So how are they?" Kakashi asked after they had sat down.

"Neji and Chouji got the worst of it; they were in critical condition but have stabilized. Shikamaru, Kiba, and Lee are banged up but they're fine. Naruto has a nasty wound to his chest, chakra exhaustion, slight nerve damage, and various other small injuries. He should be fine; the Kyuubi had already started healing him from the inside by the time you got him here. The Sound Kunoichi is lucky to be alive: she has numerous deep lacerations, her right leg is broken in five places, her left leg in three places, four broken ribs, her right collar bone is broken, and the ribs punctured a few organs," Tsunade explained.

"That's good about the others, will she make it?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, she's out of any immediate danger. If you hadn't had the ANBU bring her hear she would've been dead within an hour, two tops," Tsunade replied. She then folded her hands together and rested her chin on them before asking, "Which brings me to my question: why did you have her brought here?"

"She could provide us with valuable information on Orochimaru: where his bases are, his plans, how the curse mark works. And…I know it sounds strange but when I saw her I got the feeling that she would be important in the future," Kakashi replied, the second part a bit quieter than the first.

"I see…so you believe that she'll play an important role in upcoming events. What makes you think this?" she asked.

"I don't know, I just got this gut feeling, like an instinct in the middle of battle," Kakashi explained.

"Well we'll see about that, but I agree about her being able to provide information. Also, nobody besides the team who fought the Sound ninjas, the two of us, and Jiraiya are to know that she is from Sound. If her identity became common knowledge there would be riots demanding her execution," Tsunade stated.

"Understood. Does Jiraiya know about the situation?" Kakashi asked.

"I used Katsuyu to contact him, he'll be here by tomorrow afternoon. When he gets here we'll explain the entire situation to him," Tsunade answered. She then stood and said, "You may go, I have to go see Shikamaru and Temari to find out what this Sound kunoichi can do."

They both stood and walked out of the office, Kakashi deciding to go check on Naruto one more time before going to get some sleep. While he was walking to Naruto's room he was thinking to himself, _'I hope I'm not making another mistake by keeping her alive. Minato-sensei, if you can hear me, please let me know if I made the right choice on this.'_

He looked out the window and saw two flashes of lightning from the rain clouds. His eyes widened as he saw this, for it was not like any lightning he had ever seen: one bolt was a golden yellow, the other bright red, and they coiled around each other before vanishing with no boom of thunder in their wake.

It took a few moments for Kakashi to speak, and it was only a mumble, "…I'll take that as a yes."

**A/N: That's it for the first chapter, seemed like the right place to end it. I don't know when I'll get the next chapter up, depends on how much free time I'll have. If you feel like it, leave a review, though there's not much in this chapter.**


	2. Chapter 1: A New Life

**A/N: I was surprised at the turn out for the prologue, so I got right to work on this, but school and work interfered or it would have been out sooner. Read & Review**

_**The Fox and the Flute**_

_**Chapter One: A New Life**_

"So you kept her alive in order to get information on Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes, and Kakashi here believes she'll be important in the future," Tsunade replied while glancing toward Kakashi.

Jiraiya turned to Kakashi and asked, "Oh really, how so?"

Kakashi sighed as he became the center of attention in the room. "I can't really explain it, it's just this feeling I got when I saw her," Kakashi replied vaguely.

"Do you have anything to support that?" Jiraiya asked with a serious expression and tone.

Kakashi thought about the strange lightning he had seen the night before, hesitating to mention it. He sighed before replying, "Well…I asked Minato-sensei to give me a sign that I made the right choice…I think I got one." When he saw they were waiting for him to say what it was he continued, "I saw two bolts of lightning: one was golden yellow, the other was crimson red. They coiled around each other before vanishing; there was no thunder clap to accompany the lightning."

"And what do you think this sign meant?" Jiraiya asked seriously, Tsunade glanced warily at him in silence, concerned by his seriousness.

"I believe that this was Minato-sensei and Kushina trying to tell me I made the right choice in this," Kakashi said with confidence.

Jiraiya stared intently at Kakashi for several moments, the tension in the room building. Suddenly Jiraiya's face shifted to a goofy expression and he exclaimed, "Well that's good enough for me!" He was immediately hit over the head Tsunade and exclaimed, "Ow! What was that for?!"

"For making me worry by pretending to be angry about this you idiot!" Tsunade yelled at him.

"It was a joke, you know: hahaha," Jiraiya argued in response.

"It wasn't funny! I thought you were gonna say we were wrong in keeping her alive," Tsunade stated as she hit him again.

They carried on like this for several moments as Kakashi silently watched them with a dead-pan expression. "They're like an old married couple," he mumbled to himself.

Unfortunately for Kakashi, Tsunade has exceptional hearing. She stopped her punishment of Jiraiya, and turned her wrathful gaze on Kakashi. "What did you say?" she asked in a dangerous tone as she stepped towards Kakashi.

Kakashi backed away nervously while waving his arms defensively. He saw Jiraiya pointing at him and laughing quietly; he sent the older man a glare.

Just as Tsunade was about to strike Kakashi, Shizune opened the door and said, "Naruto just woke up."

"Alright, let's go find out what exactly happened when he fought Sasuke," Tsunade stated as she turned towards the door, Jiraiya and Kakashi following.

"You lucky bastard; nobody ever shows up to distract her when she's about to hurt me," Jiraiya whined to Kakashi.

"Well I have to get lucky every now and then don't I?" Kakashi asked with his trademark eye-smile. Jiraiya only growled in response as they made their way to the hospital.

* * *

Naruto was sitting quietly on his hospital bed, having adjusted it to a reclining position. When he woke up Shizune had said to wait for her to go and get Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi. The fight against Sasuke kept replaying in his mind, and a feeling of failure began to settle in.

'_I failed…I promised Sakura that I'd bring him back and I failed. Damn it Sasuke, you were my best friend…you were like a brother to me,' _he thought to himself. He wanted to get out of the hospital and start training again, even if it was too late to save his friend, he wanted to be strong enough to kill Orochimaru.

The door then opened and Tsunade and company walked into the room, firmly shutting it behind them. "Good to see you awake Naruto, though I expected you to up soon," Tsunade said as she walked up to the bed. Jiraiya perched himself on the windowsill, Shizune remained by the door to watch for anyone else, and Kakashi stood near Jiraiya.

"Yeah, I heal pretty fast…thanks to you know who," Naruto replied solemnly.

"You had me worried Naruto, when I felt your chakra drop that low…I thought that I was too late and lost another important person," Kakashi said as he shifted his weight to the other foot.

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei, I guess I did come kinda close to dying huh?" Naruto replied with a strained smile.

"If that wound on your chest had been inflicted a little higher or to the left, you might not have made it," Tsunade stated.

Everyone was silent for a few moments before Jiraiya spoke up, "Naruto…we need to know exactly what happened. It's easier to get it out of the way as soon as possible, trust me on that." As he said this he had a reflective, pained expression on his face.

The other adults looked at Jiraiya sympathetically: he was talking about when Orochimaru fled Konoha and he had failed to stop him and bring him back.

Naruto grimaced at the thought of explaining what had happened, but began to speak anyway, "Alright. After Bushy Brows showed up to keep that bone guy busy, I went after Sasuke. I caught up with him at The Valley of the End. When he turned to face me, his curse mark was active and his left eye had changed colors."

"What do you mean changed colors?" Jiraiya asked.

"The iris had turned yellow, and the white of his eye was black. When he deactivated his curse mark it changed back to normal," Naruto replied.

"That goes along with what Shikamaru and the others said about the Sound shinobi: they all had curse marks as well and when they entered the 'second stage' they took on demonic looking forms with yellow and black eyes," Tsunade provided from the reports she had gotten from the conscious members of the team and the Sand trio.

"Gaara's here?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, along with Kankuro and Temari," Kakashi answered.

"Please continue Naruto," Jiraiya said after a moment.

"I tried to convince him to come back, to forget about going to Orochimaru to gain power. I told him that Orochimaru would just use him for his own purposes…but he wouldn't listen. He told me that he couldn't afford to waste time 'playing ninja' here in Konoha. He told me he had to gain the power to kill Itachi, no matter what the cost. He said that he thought of me as his best friend, and that by killing me, he'd get stronger," Naruto replied, his voice cracking a few times through the explanation.

Kakashi gasped at this last revelation, causing the others to face him. "What is it Kakashi?" Tsunade asked.

Kakashi hesitated before replying, "It sounds like Sasuke was trying to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan…the idea was probably put in his head by Itachi."

"Mangekyou Sharingan?" Naruto asked.

"It's a legendary doujutsu, only a handful of people in the entire history of the Uchiha clan have achieved it. It's said that the power and abilities it grants the wielder make the normal Sharingan look like nothing. It's also rumored that Itachi has achieved it," Jiraiya explained.

"That's correct, and the reason why only a few have achieved it is because of the method to obtain it: in order for an Uchiha to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan…they must kill the person who is emotionally closest to them," Kakashi stated.

Naruto was stunned by this, _'He was going to kill me…just to make himself more powerful?!'_

"Naruto, I know you must be shocked by this, but you need to continue," Jiraiya said with sympathy in his voice.

"Right…we started fighting, I told him I'd bring him back even if I had break all his bones and drag him myself. When he started using the Sharingan I had to start drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra…but then his Sharingan changed, it had three marks in each eye and I couldn't even touch him. After a bit more fighting he slammed my head into the valley floor, which probably should've killed me. The Kyuubi channeled even more of its power to me; the chakra took the shape of a fox with one tail around me. After a while of not being able to fight back, Sasuke changed, it must have been that second stage of the curse mark," Naruto explained.

"What did he look like when he changed?" Shizune asked, joining the conversation for the first time.

"His skin got darker, his hair got longer and lighter, he grew claws and fangs, and the whites of his eyes turned black. After I attacked him, he grew hand-like wings. We attacked each other with the Rasengan and Chidori," Jiraiya and Kakashi both slumped their shoulders at this, "We collided, the last thing I remember was his hand piercing my chest and me putting a scratch though the symbol on his forehead protector," Naruto finished the story.

Everyone was silent for a few moments before Jiraiya spoke up, "Naruto, Sasuke is safe for at least three more years, that's how long Orochimaru has to wait before he can take Sasuke's body as his own. Kakashi, I would like to take Naruto on as my apprentice."

"You want to train me Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Stop calling me that, and yes. If it's alright with Kakashi that is," Jiraiya stated as he turned to him.

"It's alright with me, but can I ask why?" Kakashi asked.

"Akatsuki is going to come for Naruto in a few years; I want him to be prepared for them. I think the best way to be sure of that is for me to personally train him until then," Jiraiya explained.

"Well that sounds good, I'll allow it, but I have a mission in mind for Naruto," Tsunade said as she turned towards the door. She said to the others, "Come on, let's let him get some rest, he looks tired."

"Wait, what kind of mission?" Naruto asked.

"Can't tell you yet, not sure about whether or not to assign it to you, but you'll know within a few days one way or the other," Tsunade said as she and Shizune left the room.

"Get some rest some Naruto; do you want me to tell the others that you're awake?" Kakashi asked him as he moved from his spot near Jiraiya.

"No, not yet…I wanna be alone for a little while," Naruto replied solemnly.

"Alright, here…I think you should have this," Kakashi said as he removed Sasuke's forehead protector and held it out to Naruto.

Naruto hesitated for a moment before reaching out and taking it and said, "Thanks Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi left without saying another word.

"Naruto, listen to me," Jiraiya said seriously. When Naruto turned to him he continued, "I was in a similar position as you are when Orochimaru left Konoha. Trust me when I say this: you're better off not trying to bring Sasuke back." He then left the room to leave Naruto to his thoughts.

* * *

Early the next morning, Tsunade walked through the halls of the hospital doing a check up on the members of Shikamaru's team. She checked on Naruto and saw that he was sound asleep and continued on to her last stop.

She had left Shizune to watch the girl in case she woke up, Tsunade wanted to be the first to speak with her. She entered the room and asked Shizune, "Has she woken up yet?"

"No, but she's been muttering in her sleep. From what I've heard she has quite a colorful vocabulary," Shizune replied.

"Hmm, well if she's talking in her sleep she might wake up soon. So I'll wait here for a while before going to my office," Tsunade replied as she sat beside Shizune.

For almost an hour she waited for the girl to wake up, growing steadily more impatient and fidgety the whole time. Just as she was about to get up and leave, the girl's eyes began to open. "Well she has good timing, I'll give her that," Tsunade muttered to Shizune.

"I feel like fucking shit…where the fuck am I?" the girl muttered while looking around, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the bright white room.

"Well you had a couple tons of wood dropped on after being sliced up; it's natural that you'd feel like shit even after being mostly healed. And you are in the hospital in Konoha," Tsunade answered as she stood and walked to the food of the bed.

The girl glared at the woman before asking, "Who the hell are you?"

"It's usually more proper to introduce yourself first before you ask somebody their name," Tsunade said in a scolding tone.

The girl continued to glare for a moment before she replied, "My name is Tayuya."

"It's nice to meet you, I am Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage," Tsunade stated.

"The Tsunade? Orochimaru's former teammate?" Tayuya asked in surprise.

"That's right, Orochimaru and I go way back," Tsunade replied.

Tayuya took note of her legs in casts, and her right arm in a sling before asking, "So you assholes brought me here and healed me so I could be a fucking prisoner?"

"That's entirely up to you Tayuya," Tsunade answered, confusing Tayuya.

"What do you fucking mean it's up to me?" she asked.

"It's exactly what it sounds like. You have two options here: you can accept my offer, or you can be treated as a prisoner which means you'll be handed over to the Interrogation and Torture department until they find out what we want to know, and then be executed," Tsunade replied.

"What's the offer?" Tayuya asked after a moment.

"In exchange for the information we want, we will grant you total amnesty. You'll be able to start a new life here in Konoha with a clean slate, you could even become a shinobi of Konoha if you so choose. We will also protect you from Orochimaru should he try to take you back. And before you say anything about that last part: I know how Orochimaru is, if you stay here and start over, you won't be living everyday with the fear of your leader killing you for some small failure," Tsunade explained in a calm manner.

"That's one hell of an offer. How long was I out?" Tayuya asked as her eyes started closing again.

"You've been here for two days. Get some rest Tayuya, sleep on it and let me know your decision when I come back tonight," Tsunade said as she started to walk towards the door. "Let Shizune know if you need anything," she added as she reached the door.

Before she could open the door Tayuya spoke up, "Wait a minute. You're a real shithead if you think I need to take time to fucking think about it. I'll take your offer; I'm not a fan of being fucking tortured until I talk and then being killed."

Tsunade smiled as she replied, "Glad to hear that, we won't force you to tell us everything at once, but we'll start tomorrow when you've got some more energy."

"Gotcha," Tayuya mumbled as she drifted off to sleep once again.

**A/N: That's it for this chapter, sorry the story is a bit slow at the moment, but hey, the two main characters are still hospitalized. The next chapter should be out by Sunday or early next week, so until then I hope you enjoyed this, Please Review.**

**As a favor to a friend and fellow Fanfiction author: Daemen of the shadow, I'm recommending the Naruto fic he is writing. It is called **_**Prelude to the Madness.**_ **He has been having trouble getting people to read his story, though in my opinion is it great, so please check it out.**


	3. Chapter 2: The Second Meeting

**A/N: Sorry this is later than I had intended, I've been extremely stressed about some things lately.**

_**The Fox and the Flute**_

_**Chapter Two: The Second Meeting**_

Naruto woke the next morning feeling much better; his injuries had mostly healed thanks to his tenant's influence, and his chakra exhaustion was gone. Naruto slowly got out of the hospital bed and frowned at how his legs weren't quite steady yet.

"Damn it, even with the stupid Kyuubi I'm not completely better yet," he growled in annoyance.

He decided to quickly change into his normal clothes and leave the hospital before anyone came to check on him. When he found his clothes he discovered they were no condition to be worn.

Just then the door slammed opened and Tsunade yelled, "What do you think you're doing?!"

Naruto jumped in fear of her wrath shouting, "Baa-chan! I was just checking my clothes to see how bad they got torn up, I swear!"

"And why were you checking your clothes Naruto? You weren't going to try and sneak out of the hospital before you're discharged were you?" Tsunade asked with a knowing grin.

"Of course not, why would I do something stupid like that?" Naruto asked with an innocent smile on his face.

"Because you're a dope," a voice said from right behind Naruto, who yelled in surprise and jumped forward.

As he turned around he saw a wild mane a white hair and knew without seeing anything else knew who this person was. "Ero-sennin! What the hell is your problem, sneaking up on somebody in the hospital like that!" he shouted at the man.

Jiraiya chuckled a bit before replying, "Sorry Naruto, I couldn't resist. Tsunade asked me to make sure you didn't try to leave the hospital."

"Why would ask him to make sure, don't you trust me?" Naruto asked with a grin.

"Not at all, I knew you were going to try leaving as soon as you could move," Tsunade replied. Naruto dead-panned at this response before she continued, "Besides, you need to come with us, that mission I told you about is all set up."

Naruto face scrunched in thought before asking, "What's the mission?"

"I'll explain it on the way there, now put these clothes on," Tsunade answered as she passed him some folded clothes. As Naruto unfolded the clothes; both Tsunade and Jiraiya left through the door.

As they were waiting Jiraiya asked, "Are you sure that giving him this mission is a good idea?"

"I can't think of anybody better for this mission, he seems to have a knack for these kind of things," Tsunade replied.

"Well, I can't argue with that, but this is a bit different," Jiraiya stated.

Before Tsunade could reply to his statement, Naruto came out of the room wearing the clothes that had been provided for him: a simple black shirt with the same swirl design he had on his jacket on the back, green pants with numerous pockets, and a black pair of shinobi shoes.

"It feels weird not wearing any orange," Naruto stated as he looked down at himself.

Tsunade laughed a bit before replying, "Well I think it's an improvement; you look less like a goof-ball now."

Naruto growled in irritation at the off-hand insult before he mumbled, "But orange is my favorite color…"

"It also makes you a walking target kid; you might as well have a bull's-eye on your back or a neon sign that says 'Kill Me'," Jiraiya added with a chuckle.

Naruto sighed in defeat and mumbled, "Alright let's go, I wanna know what this mission is."

"Right this way," Tsunade said as they started down the hallway.

* * *

Sakura, Ino, and Hinata had just finished visiting with their injured friends, and were on their way to see Naruto; when they had checked on him earlier he had still been asleep and were hoping he would be awake now.

"I hope Naruto-kun will be alright," Hinata said quietly as they walked down the hall.

"I'm sure he'll be okay, I mean he is pretty tough, we saw that ourselves in the Chuunin exam," Ino stated.

"Yeah, Naruto is tough when he's determined. The Sound ninja he fought must have been strong to put Naruto in the hospital though," Sakura added.

As they were got closer to Naruto's room they saw Kakashi walking towards them. "Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed to get his attention out of his ever present little orange book.

Kakashi looked up when he heard his name being called, when he saw who it was he asked, "Sakura, Ino, Hinata, what brings you here?"

The three kunoichi just looked at him with an expression that said 'You're joking right?'. Sakura then spoke for the three of them, "We're visiting everybody, and were on our way to visit Naruto."

"Then the three of you have some bad timing," Kakashi replied. When the three of them looked questioningly at him he continued, "He just left with Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama to be briefed on a new mission."

"A new mission, what is it?" Hinata asked.

"Sorry, but at the moment that's classified information. You'll probably be allowed to know soon, but not right now," Kakashi replied.

"Do you know when the briefing will be over Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"No, but if I see Naruto I'll let him know the three of you were looking for him," Kakashi said as he started to walk away from the three.

Before he got very far Ino spoke up, "Wait; do you know who the Sound ninja that Naruto fought was? He must have been strong to put Naruto here."

"That's right, to injure Naruto-kun like that they must have been strong," Hinata added.

Kakashi turned back around to face them and asked in a serious tone, "Nobody told you what happened out there?" When they shook their heads he continued, "A Sound shinobi didn't do that to Naruto…it was Sasuke."

All three gasped at this revelation, and Ino mumbled, "You mean…Sasuke-kun did that to Naruto?"

"I don't believe that, Sasuke-kun would never do that, he and Naruto are like brothers. It must have been some kind of trick," Sakura argued.

"No Sakura, all of the Sound shinobi were accounted for in the battles with the others. Naruto and Sasuke fought each other at the Valley of the End when he refused to come back Konoha," Kakashi responded.

"What do you mean refused to come back? The Sound shinobi abducted him and forced him to go with them," Sakura stated desperately.

Kakashi sighed before he replied to that, "That's what we thought, but we were wrong. Sasuke said it to Naruto himself: he left Konoha of his own will to obtain power from Orochimaru so he can kill Itachi. He and Naruto fought, and they almost killed each other in the process."

Ino and Hinata were shocked by this; they stood there gawking at Kakashi, not saying a word. Sakura on the other hand turned around and ran towards the stairs to leave the hospital with tears in her eyes.

As the others watched her go Ino mumbled, "Sakura…"

"I expected her to have a reaction like that when I told her what really happened. Just give her some time, she should be alright if we give her that," Kakashi said as they parted ways.

* * *

"So Baa-chan, what is this mission?" Naruto asked as they walked down the hallway, he took note that they weren't heading for the exit.

"It will be your responsibility to help a new citizen of Konoha adjust to life here, as well as protect her," Tsunade replied.

"Protect her? Why would she need protection?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Let's just say that the majority of the village would want to harm her if her identity was leaked, so this mission is S-class," Tsunade explained.

Naruto stumbled in surprise as he muttered, "An S-class mission, for me?"

"That's right kid, but remember: you can't reveal her identity to anyone. Some people already know, it would be impossible to hide who she is from them," Jiraiya added as they turned to face a door.

"Why? Who is she?" Naruto asked warily.

Tsunade gripped the door knob and turned it while saying, "You're about to see for yourself." They slowly entered the room and Naruto grinned and nodded toward Shizune when she waved to greet him. Jiraiya firmly shut the door behind them and did a check around the room to make sure there was no eavesdropping going on.

When Jiraiya gave the "all clear", Tsunade gripped the privacy curtain that was around the only bed in the room. "Naruto, I'd like you to meet Tayuya," she said as she pulled the curtain back to reveal the bed-ridden girl.

Naruto and Tayuya locked eyes and stared at each other in shock for several moments before simultaneously pointing at each other and shouting, "YOU!"

"You're that foul-mouth Oto- kunoichi!" Naruto added to his initial shout.

"And you're that orange-wearing shithead!" Tayuya retaliated, earning a glare from Naruto.

"Baa-chan, what is going on?!" Naruto exclaimed as he turned to Tsunade.

"Tayuya is now a citizen of Konoha, with full amnesty; I finished the paperwork this morning before I came to get you," Tsunade replied.

Naruto's jaw dropped and his eyes widened as he heard this. He then angrily said, "How could you do that? She's one of Orochimaru's goons."

"Not anymore; in exchange for information on Orochimaru we offered her a fresh start here in Konoha, and she accepted," Tsunade explained.

"Well it was either that or be tortured and fucking executed," Tayuya mumbled with a grimace.

"So my mission is to basically babysit her?" Naruto asked with an unhappy tone.

"Wait what mission? What the fuck's going on?" Tayuya asked as she looked at each of them in turn.

"Naruto is going to help you get accustomed to life here in Konoha, as I'm sure it's different than Oto. He will also be your body-guard of sorts, but if something gets out of hand a higher skill level shinobi will step in," Tsunade replied.

Tayuya stared at Tsunade silently for a few moments before shouting, "You've gotta be fucking kidding me! You mean I'll have to spend all my time with this shithead?!"

"Baa-chan, you're not really gonna make me protect somebody like this are you?" Naruto added.

"Listen you two: Naruto this is an S-class mission, you can't refuse it, so suck it up. Tayuya it's either you put up with Naruto or be tortured and executed; it's your call," Jiraiya intervened before Tsunade lost her temper.

Both of the young shinobi gawked at Jiraiya and Tsunade, before Naruto hung his head in defeat and nodded. Tayuya looked off to the side and muttered that she'd try to put up with him.

"Good! Now we can get started," Jiraiya stated with a goofy grin.

"Started?" Naruto and Tayuya asked simultaneously, then glared slightly at each other.

"We won't push for all the information we want at once, but we do need some information immediately," Tsunade answered in an authoritative tone.

"What do you want to know?" Tayuya grumbled.

"Tell me everything you know about how the Curse Mark works, it has proven to be quite the pain in the ass to us if you know what I mean," Jiraiya stated sternly.

Tayuya sighed and took a few breaths before answering, "I don't know all the details about how it works, so you'll have to make do with what I know. Orochimaru makes the seal by combining an enzyme from the body of shinobi who naturally, and randomly enters that state with his own blood. By doing this and marking somebody with it, it can artificially induce the same state in others. The only other thing I know is that he can use it to track us and inflict pain or even kill us if he desires."

Naruto was surprised by this; he had no idea the Curse Mark was that complicated, or that Orochimaru could cause pain to those who had it.

"I figured there would be a tracking element to it, and we already about the inducing pain thanks to Anko. I should be able to seal the tracking aspect of the Curse Mark, so that Orochimaru thinks you're dead. The last thing we need is for him to kill you from a distance or stage another attack," Jiraiya said as he looked upwards in thought.

"Wouldn't he already know she's here though?" Naruto asked.

"If he was a sane leader than I'd say yes. But he's probably so excited to have an Uchiha in his clutches that he probably hasn't noticed that his elite bodyguards haven't shown up in Oto yet. If Jiraiya seals the tracking part of the Curse Mark before he tries to find them, he'll think she's dead like the others and won't take further action," Tsunade explained.

"I wouldn't doubt that, the fucking pedophile is probably on cloud nine now that he has that emo to play with. He probably won't even think to look for us for a few more days," Tayuya stated with a disgusted look on her face.

"If he does something like that to Sasuke I'll make sure to kill him myself," Naruto declared angrily.

Tayuya looked at Naruto with an amused look before asking, "What? Was the fucking emo your boyfriend or something?"

Naruto's face immediately turned five shades darker before he shouted, "NO WAY IN HELL!!!"

"Then why the angry response, shithead?" Tayuya asked smugly.

"Because Sasuke was my best friend; he was like a brother to me," Naruto replied solemnly. Tayuya actually had no response to this; she was unfamiliar with that kind of relationship.

"Alright, I'm going to go catch up on my tracking seals, so I can figure out the best way to seal the tracking part of the Curse Mark on Tayuya. Hopefully I'll be ready later today or by tomorrow morning; after that I can work on finding a way to completely seal the Curse Mark," Jiraiya said as he made his way to the door.

"What the hell do you mean by 'completely seal'?" Tayuya asked in a surprised tone.

"The Curse Mark is dangerous; we've done testing on a kunoichi here in Konoha who also has one. Hers isn't fully developed like yours, so we haven't learned much from it. Now that you're here we can find a way to seal both hers and yours; and possibly develop a jutsu to negate an enemy's Curse Mark during battle," Tsunade explained. Tayuya was about to argue but Tsunade interrupted her, "This is non-negotiable Tayuya."

Tayuya sputtered a few curses under her breath before saying, "Fine."

"Good. Jiraiya, go do your brushing up on tracking seals; I want her dead as far as Orochimaru knows by noon tomorrow. Naruto, go to your apartment and get whatever you think you'll need; you're staying here with Tayuya until she's able to leave the hospital. And as for you Tayuya, it's time for your sleeping pills, you still need plenty of rest," Tsunade issued orders like the leader she is.

"Yes sir!" Jiraiya shouted as he saluted Tsunade. He then ducked out the door to dodge the medical chart Tsunade threw at him, which became lodged in the wall like a shuriken.

"Why do I have to stay here?" Naruto asked with depressed expression.

"Because you are her body-guard; how can you fulfill that aspect of your mission if you aren't near her at all times?" Tsunade asked rhetorically.

Naruto dead-panned at his own stupidity before replying, "Good point….I'll be back soon." With that said he left through the window and jumped to the next building and was soon out of sight.

"Can I ask you why you picked the shithead for this?" Tayuya asked tiredly, the conversation had burned through her reserves quicker than she expected.

"I have my reasons, which I think you'll see sooner or later. Now swallow this, Shizune will be here until Naruto gets back." Tsunade said as she handed a glass of water and some pills to the bed-ridden girl.

"Yeah yeah, need all the energy I can get if I gotta fucking put up with shithead," Tayuya replied as she took the medication.

"Shithead…is that your nickname for him?" Shizune asked with a slightly teasing tone.

"He's a shithead, so that's what I'm gonna call him until I'm proven otherwise," Tayuya replied matter of factly.

"Well I can't argue with you about that, it's pretty sound logic. I'll see you either later today or tomorrow, get some rest," Tsunade said as she left the room.

Shizune watched the young girl drift off to sleep and thought to herself, _'Well this should be interesting: those two having to constantly interact.'_ A smile made its way to her face with the thought of possible outcomes to this situation: some good, some bad, some just plain funny.

**A/N: Well that's it for that chapter, once again sorry for the late update. Please Review.**


	4. Chapter 3: Frustration

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I hope you enjoy it. Read and Review.**

_**The Fox and the Flute**_

_**Chapter Three: Frustration  
**_

It took Naruto about half an hour to go to his apartment to get his essentials and return to Tayuya's room at the hospital. When he returned with his pack he found Shizune checking the unconscious girl one more time before leaving.

She had told him that she would be going to help Tsunade with some paperwork and they'd both be back to check up and give him a break around dinner time. Naruto passed that time by reading jutsu scrolls; with Tayuya being out cold he had nobody to talk to, not that he really wanted to talk to the foul-mouthed kunoichi.

A nurse would come and check on her every hour, but other than that nobody entered the room. As dinner time drew closer his stomach rumbled loudly, and he realized that he hadn't eaten a proper meal in a few days.

'_Where are they? I really wanna go to Ichiraku's and get some ramen…I hate hospital food,' _he thought to himself as he looked back and forth between the door and the clock.

The door finally opened at quarter after six to reveal Tsunade and Shizune. "Sorry we took so long Naruto, but somebody neglected her paperwork for the last few days," Shizune stated in an irritated tone.

"There were more important things going on than that stupid paperwork and you know it Shizune," Tsunade replied grumpily.

"I'm just glad you two are here, I'm starving. I'm going to go to Ichiraku's and grab some ramen, I'll be back soon," Naruto replied as he made his way to the door.

Before he got out the door Tsunade asked, "Did she wake up at all while we were gone?"

Naruto stopped and turned back around to answer, "No she's been asleep since I got back. She mumbled in her sleep a few times but that was it."

"I see; well she should be waking up soon, the dose I gave her was for eight hours. It's best that she gets as much rest as possible right now," Tsunade replied.

"Oh and Naruto, you should check up on your friends, they've been worried about you," Shizune added as Naruto went to leave.

"Yeah I probably should, see you two later!" Naruto shouted as he ran out of the room before they could delay him any further.

"Naruto don't you dare take too long!" Tsunade screamed down the hall at him, it was useless seeing as he was already out of sight.

* * *

Within ten minutes Naruto was seated at Ichiraku's and had already consumed two bowls of ramen, working on his third. Teuchi and Ayame had not brought up the recent mission he had been on; they had heard it had not gone well and figured he'd be touchy about it.

As he was finishing his third bowl he heard a female voice shout, "Hey look, Naruto's there!"

He turned his head to see who it was and saw the three female members of the Rookie 9 approaching. "Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, Ino? What are you doing here?" he asked as they got closer.

"We visited everybody in the hospital earlier, but we didn't get a chance to see you because you were with Jiraiya and the Hokage," Sakura replied.

"Really, you all came to see me?" Naruto asked in slight surprise.

"Of course we did; you may be an annoying goof of a ninja, but you're our friend too," Ino replied.

"That's r-right Naruto-kun," Hinata added nervously.

"So Naruto what's this new mission you got assigned to?" Sakura asked with a curious tone.

Naruto hesitated before responding, "I can't really talk about, it's kinda classified information. The only thing I can tell you is that I'm basically a bodyguard."

"A bodyguard?" Ino asked.

"Well there's more to it than that, but I can't tell you anymore," Naruto explained.

"It must be somebody important then, but why would the Hokage trust you with something like that?" Sakura asked.

"Just what is that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked with a glare.

"Well, you aren't exactly the sharpest kunai in the pouch," Ino stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right that's why I beat a prodigy," Naruto replied with an edge to his voice.

"It's true, he d-did beat Neji," Hinata added in his defense.

Before Ino could respond, another voice interrupted from behind them, "Yeah, we're not even from Konoha and were surprised by that."

They turned around to see Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. "It's good to see you are alright Naruto, I apologize that we weren't of more help," Gaara stated as they got closer.

"It's alright, I heard that you guys saved my friends from being killed, that's more than enough," Naruto replied with a grin.

Ino glanced at Temari for a moment before asking, "Where's Shikamaru? I figured you two would be inseparable after fighting the Oto kunoichi."

Naruto's eyes widened at this, he had forgotten that it was Shikamaru was the one who had fought Tayuya.

"And just what do you mean by that?" Temari asked in an aggressive tone, but the slight blush that appeared on her face did not go unnoticed by the others.

Temari and Ino then began to insult each other, with Sakura and Hinata trying to stop them, leaving Naruto, Kankuro, and Gaara to simply watch this exchange.

Kankuro sighed as he placed his hand on his head as if he had a headache before saying, "Sheesh, I think I missed something here. One second they're fine, the next they're insulting each other."

"Naruto, is Ino always this…irritating?" Gaara asked slowly, trying not to make the question sound any ruder than need be.

Naruto sighed as he replied, "Yeah pretty much, what about Temari?"

Kankuro laughed slightly before he answered, "You have no idea."

The girls stopped when they heard somebody laughing, and glared at Kankuro. "What's so funny Kankuro?" Temari asked in a dangerous tone.

Kankuro stopped laughing as he heard this and panicked slightly before coming up with an excuse, "Huh…oh! I was laughing at this great joke that Naruto just told me," he paused for a moment before elbowing Naruto slightly and asking, "Right Naruto?"

Naruto took a moment to catch on to what Kankuro had said before saying, "Um…yeah, that's right."

"Oh really, then what was this great joke of yours?" Ino asked as she turned her attention to Naruto.

Naruto froze after she asked this, then slowly took out some money and put it on the counter before replying, "I'd really love to stay and tell you, but I should get back to my mission before Baa-chan gets mad at me for taking too long." Before anyone could stop him, Naruto bolted out of Ichiraku's and vanished from sight.

Kankuro turned to Gaara for help, only to see a sand replica of his brother crumble away; both Naruto and Gaara had left Kankuro to the wrath of Ino and Temari.

* * *

Naruto lept from building to building in his effort to get away from the wrath of the two kunoichi. "That was a close one," he said as he descended upon another roof. This roof was different though, and he thought to himself, _'Since when are roofs soft?' _Immediately after this thought, he heard a rough exhalation of air, and a shout of surprise and pain.

He came to a stop on the roof and looked back; he saw Shikamaru sitting up clutching his stomach in pain and trying to catch his breath.

"Shikamaru, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked in a clueless tone.

After several more gasps, Shikamaru was able to even out his breathing enough to speak. "Well, I was enjoying watching the sky, until you decided to crush my diaphragm," he replied roughly.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he replied, "Sorry about that, I was kinda in a hurry and wasn't watching for people on the roofs."

"I gathered that much. But why are you even out of the hospital; aren't you supposed to be watching Tayuya?" Shikamaru asked with a yawn as he lay down once more.

"Yeah I was but then –," Naruto began to reply before he was struck by realization, "Hey wait, how did you know about my mission?"

Shikamaru groaned at the fact he had to explain something that should have been obvious. "You can be so troublesome. It was Temari and I who fought Tayuya, so obviously the Hokage filled me in on what's going on, and she'll be doing the same for everyone who was with us. The reason for that is because it would be impossible to hide who she is from us," he explained lazily.

"Good point," Naruto replied as he looked up at the sky himself. After a slight pause he continued, "I wonder how the others will react to this."

Shikamaru groaned loudly at that thought before saying, "I can tell you this: it will _definitely_ be troublesome."

Naruto laughed as he responded, "No doubt about that, things are going to be complicated for a while." After a few moments of silence, Naruto turned to face the hospital in the distance and said, "I better get going, if I take much longer Baa-chan will knock me through a wall or something."

"Alright then, see you around," Shikamaru replied with a yawn. Naruto turned to leave, but Shikamaru spoke up once more, "Naruto…for what it's worth…I'm sorry." Naruto paused as he heard this, and then left without saying a word.

* * *

"So where exactly did the shithead go?" Tayuya asked as she finished eating her food. Although she found hospital food disgusting, sleeping all day had made her ravenous.

"We came to give him a break so he could rest and get something to eat," Tsunade answered.

Before Tayuya could say anything Shizune added, "He probably went to Ichiraku's."

"Ichiraku's?" Tayuya repeated in a questioning tone.

"It's a small restaurant, more of a stand really, that serves several types of ramen. According to Naruto it's the best place to eat for a reasonable price in Konoha," Tsunade explained.

Tayuya growled angrily before stating, "Well that's nice, he gets to get food from his favorite restaurant while I'm stuck eating fucking hospital food, which tastes like shit."

"Well once your collarbone is healed you'll be able to move around, using a wheelchair until your legs heal," Shizune said reassuringly.

"Greeaaat. I get to go from being bedridden to being a fucking cripple in a wheelchair," Tayuya said with a slight edge to her voice.

"You're lucky to have survived those wounds, medical jutsu can only do so much, and it will take time for your body to fully heal," Tsunade stated in an authoritarian, yet kind tone.

"Yeah I know," Tayuya sighed in defeat as she flumped backwards into her pillows.

Shizune smiled mischievously as she added, "And then the physical therapy should only take a month or so."

Tayuya grabbed one of her pillows with her good arm, covered her face with it, and screamed, "DAMNIT DAMNIT DAMNIT!!!"

Naruto chose that exact moment to enter the room and saw the strange scene of the foul mouthed kunoichi smothering herself and screaming, and Tsunade along with Shizune laughing at the girl.

"Um…what's going on?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

Tsunade and Shizune turned to face him and Tsunade replied, "Tayuya is just frustrated about her temporary status as an invalid."

Upon hearing a new voice in the room, Tayuya removed the pillow from her face to see who had entered. When she saw that it was Naruto she said, "Oh joy, Shithead's back."

Naruto glared slightly at her and muttered, "Yeah great to see you too."

"So what took you so long?" Shizune asked him.

"Well I went to Ichiraku's to get some dinner," Naruto started to answer, pausing when he heard a growl from Tayuya, "I ran into a few people there, then I ran into Shikamaru on the way back."

"How is everybody? I haven't had a chance yet to talk with them all," Tsunade said.

Naruto thought about what Shikamaru had said before he left, then replied, "From what I could tell they're taking the news about Sasuke better than I expected. Kankuro might be hurt though," upon seeing their questioning looks he added, "He made Ino and Temari angry."

Shizune laughed as she said, "Well that wasn't very smart of him."

After a few moments of laughter between the three of them, Naruto asked, "So did I miss anything while I was gone?"

"Not much, Tayuya woke up a few minutes after you left, then we got her something to eat, which she just finished," Tsunade answered.

"Yeah, I had to eat shitty hospital food while you went to your favorite fucking restaurant," Tayuya stated angrily.

"You were asleep, and besides, it's not like I could have brought you with me with the condition you're in anyway," Naruto argued with an edge to his voice.

"I fucking hate being bedridden!" Tayuya shouted as she flopped backwards onto her pillows once more.

Tsunade and Shizune glanced at the sulking girl once more before Tsunade said, "Well, we're going to get going, we'll see you two in the morning."

"Good night Naruto, Tayuya," Shizune added as they left.

An awkward silence engulfed the room as Naruto and Tayuya were left alone together for the first time since Naruto was assigned to be her bodyguard.

Tayuya was the one who broke the silence, "So…is that Ichiraku place really that good?"

Naruto smiled widely at the opportunity to tell another person, even if it was the foul mouthed kunoichi, about his favorite place to eat. "You bet it is! They make the best ramen in Konoha, maybe even the entire Fire Country," Naruto said happily.

Tayuya looked at him in surprise: he had been solemn that morning when they were re-introduced to each other, yet just talking about this place's ramen seemed to cheer him up.

After a moment of thought she unintentionally muttered just loud enough for him to hear, "It's been a long time since I've had ramen."

"Huh, why?" Naruto asked.

Tayuya looked up in surprise and thought, _'How the hell did he hear me? I whispered that and he's across the fucking room.'_ After another moment she replied, "Never mind."

Naruto looked at her questioningly before saying, "Alright then." He then took a scroll out of his pack and began to read it.

Several moments of silence passed, the only noticeable sound was Tayuya shifting in her bed, trying to get more comfortable. Tayuya then growled slightly, tired of the silence, then asked, "Hey Shithead, what are you reading over there?"

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Naruto asked in turn.

"Probably for the same reason you call Jiraiya and the Hokage Ero-sennin and Baa-chan. You _are_ a shithead as far as I'm concerned, so that's what I'm gonna call you," Tayuya replied smugly.

Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but paused when he realized he couldn't argue with her logic, even if he didn't like his new nickname. Instead of arguing he decided to answer her question, "It's a jutsu scroll I got from Ero-sennin, pointers on how to improve my Rasengan so I don't need to make a clone to help me form it."

"I heard that the Rasengan is an A-Class jutsu, you can really use it Shithead?" Tayuya asked with genuine curiosity and surprise.

Naruto smiled proudly as he said, "Yep, Ero-sennin taught it to me when we were looking for Baa-chan a few months ago…after the Sandaime died in the attack," Naruto paused as he saw Tayuya's face darken slightly at the mention of the Oto/Suna invasion of Konoha, he quickly went back to talking about the Rasengan, "Anyway, I can use it but I still have a way to go before I master it."

"What do you mean?" Tayuya asked, still with a slightly darkened face.

"Well it's supposed to be used with one hand, but I still need to make a kage bunshin to help me generate it, so it takes longer to use it, which can be a disadvantage," Naruto explained.

Tayuya was thoroughly surprised by this and thought, _'Didn't expect him to be observant when it comes to his combat weaknesses…he's still a shithead though.' _ "Well since you're my bodyguard, I should let you get back to that then shouldn't I?" Tayuya asked in a sarcastic way.

Naruto nodded as he said, "I really want to get better at using it, those couple of seconds could mean the difference between life and death, that's been made clear to me now."

"Well before you get back to reading, could you get me the remote for the damn TV? Why the fuck they put it over there is beyond me, I mean come on, I'm fucking bedridden!" Tayuya said in an exasperated tone as she pointed near Naruto.

Naruto glanced at the table next to his chair and found the remote for the TV sitting there. "Stupid place to put it, especially since the patient is an invalid," Naruto said as he brought the remote over to Tayuya.

"Don't you mock me about this Shithead, or I swear I'll put you here when I'm healed," Tayuya stated with a glare as she took the remote from him.

As Naruto walked back to his chair he replied, "Alright I won't say it again, unless you make me angry." For the next two hours Naruto read his scroll while Tayuya looked for something to watch, she finally did Naruto noted, as the sound channels changing ceased. When his eyes started to droop uncontrollably Naruto said, "Alright, I'm going to go to sleep, do you need anything?"

"No, I'm alright for now," Tayuya replied without looking away from the TV, obviously more interested in the show she was watching than what Naruto was saying.

"Okay then, good night," Naruto said as he propped his feet up on another chair and made himself comfortable. Within moments of closing his eyes he fell asleep.

* * *

A lone figure walked down a dimly lit corridor, its long dark hair contrasting sharply with its pale skin. "So Akatsuki have made their appearance, this could prove to be troublesome," he said to himself as he continued to walk at a relaxed pace. "Jiraiya may have prevented them from capturing Naruto and the Kyuubi this time, but the other Jinchuuriki aren't nearly as well as protected," he stated as he stooped in his tracks.

He thought back to the conversation he had had with his right hand man just moments ago: _"Are you sure it was Akatsuki who attacked Konoha and Naruto?" he had asked._

"_I'm positive, I found several witnesses and heard it from Sasori himself: their leader has assigned Itachi Uchiha to capture the Kyuubi," the younger man with silver-white hair replied._

"_Itachi?! Naruto is lucky to have escaped if they sent him; if Jiraiya hadn't been there he would have been captured without a doubt. Who was with Itachi?" he asked after his muttering._

"_He is partnered with Kisame Hoshigaki," the second replied. _

"_Hmm, he's formidable, but nowhere near the threat that Itachi poses," he stated, then paused to think before adding, "Kabuto, gather more information on the members of Akatsuki. We cannot allow them to succeed in their plans."_

"_Very well, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said as he bowed and left the room._

"If Akatsuki captures all of the bijuu, all of my plans will be meaningless," Orochimaru said as he resumed walking down the hall. He then thought about the newest addition to his followers: Sasuke Uchiha. _'In order for my plans to come to fruition, Sasuke is the key, I __**need**__ the Sharingan!' _he thought to himself as he started to laugh to himself manically.

**A/N: That's it for this chapter, I hoped you enjoyed it. I don't when I'll get the next chapter out. Please Review!**


	5. Chapter 4: Can't Sleep

**A/N: This was supposed to be part of the previous chapter, but I decided to post it separately, therefore it is much shorter than the previous chapters. This is also the ending of the first "arc" of the story; the next chapter will be after a slight time skip of about a week.**

_**The Fox and the Flute**_

_**Chapter Four: Can't Sleep**_

Naruto's sleep was anything but restful, he knew he was dreaming but that didn't help with the nightmare's that plagued him: Sasuke's betrayal of Konoha and his friends, the battle at the Valley of the End, leaving his friends behind one by one until he was alone, not knowing if they would survive. The last thing he saw before he was jolted awake was the cold, piercing gaze of the Sharingan filling his vision.

* * *

Tayuya had long since turned the TV off and attempted to go back to sleep, but she was unable to do so. Sleeping the entire day away had made her incapable of falling asleep, and her attention was drawn to the other occupant of the room as he began to toss and turn violently in his sleep.

After a few moments she called out to him, "Hey! Shithead, wake up!" It did no good as whatever nightmare he was in made him oblivious to the world around him. _'Some bodyguard,'_ Tayuya thought to herself as she continued to watch him.

He then began to mutter in his sleep, "Sasuke….betrayed…Sharingan…Orochimaru." By now he was starting to sweat like he was sitting in a sauna.

Tayuya then did the only that came to mind: she grabbed the remote for the TV and threw it with deadly accuracy at Naruto's head.

When the makeshift projectile collided with his head Naruto bolted upright, and instinctively reached for a kunai which he lodged in the wall opposite him. Naruto then began to examine his surroundings questionably, not sure of where he was or why.

Tayuya didn't say a word yet, she knew that people were irrational like an animal backed into a corner after being awakened from a nightmare; the fact that Naruto was a ninja only made this an even more delicate situation.

After a few moments Naruto remembered where he was and turned to Tayuya. "You okay Shithead?" she asked after a moment.

"What happened?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"You were having a nightmare, must have been a fucking bad one from what I saw of your reactions to it," she replied.

Naruto contemplated this; the dreams he had had were foggy and difficult for him to recall. He then said, "I don't remember what it was, what woke me up?"

"That was me. You were starting to yell in your sleep, I couldn't have you waking up the whole fucking hospital…so I kinda threw the TV remote at your head," Tayuya replied proudly.

Naruto began to feel his head, flinching as he found the impact site right above his left eye. "Ouch, damn it that's gonna bruise," he whined to himself.

"Whoopedy-fucking-doo, get over it. A little bruise is literally nothing compared to…oh gee, I don't know, my injuries!" Tayuya stated in a frustrated tone.

"Good point; I didn't wake you up did I?" Naruto asked.

Tayuya sighed loudly before she replied, "No I was already awake. I slept all day so I can't sleep now."

"Did you find anything good to watch?" Naruto asked, desperate to change the topic.

"I guess," Tayuya replied simply.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Naruto spoke up, "So what time is it?"

Tayuya glanced at the clock near her bed and groaned, "It's three in the fucking morning." Naruto didn't reply to this statement, he instead turned and stared out the window. For several minutes they were quiet, until Tayuya asked, "So you and Sasuke were friends?"

Naruto didn't reply at first, which gave Tayuya time to think, _'Why the hell am I asking him that?'_

Before she could say anything though, he replied, "We weren't at first. All through our years at the academy he was mister popular and looked down on everybody, while I was the dead last bottom of the class. I hated him and he hated me. Then we graduated and were assigned to the same three person team under Kakashi-sensei, and we became more like rivals than anything. Our first mission out of Konoha was supposed to be C-rank, but because a rouge ninja named Zabuza Momochi got involved, it got pushed up to A-rank."

"Wait, it was your team that killed Zabuza?" Tayuya asked in surprise.

"Well there's more to it than that, but he did die after we fought him the second time," Naruto answered. Tayuya nodded signaling for him to continue, "During the second fight Kakashi fought Zabuza, Sakura protected Tazuna, our client, and Sasuke and I fought Haku, he was Zabuza's subordinate. Haku overwhelmed us, and I would've taken a hit that probably would've killed me, but Sasuke took the hit for me, after that, we became better friends."

"So what made him fucking cold to everybody?" Tayuya asked.

"He's obsessed with killing his older brother, Itachi. From what I've heard Itachi wiped the entire Uchiha clan out except for Sasuke, and he wants revenge. That's why he went to Orochimaru; he wants more power to get his revenge and thinks he can't get it by training here," Naruto replied.

Tayuya was silent for a few moments before she said, "I think that you'd be better off not trying to bring him back, it sounds like he's made his choice." Naruto turned and glared at her, a look she had never seen on his face.

"Don't tell me that!" he snapped at her.

"Hmph, fine then," Tayuya said roughly as she closed her eyes and turned her head away from him with the intent to try and sleep.

About half an hour of silence passed, but Tayuya was unable to fall asleep. She sat there, frustrated that she was unable to sleep, and angry that Naruto had snapped like that when she had actually tried to be nice and help him sort out the turbulent thoughts in his mind.

"Tayuya," Naruto's quiet voice broke the silence. When she didn't reply he spoke again, this time louder, "Tayuya, I know you're still awake."

"What do you want Shithead?" Tayuya replied with a definite edge.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you; it's just not easy to accept that my best friend has turned his back on his home. I mean he even tried to kill me to gain a higher level of the Sharingan, but didn't follow through on it. It's going to take me time to sort all of this out, so I'm sorry for snapping, I know you were trying to help in your own way," Naruto said with a cracking voice.

Tayuya turned her head towards him after he said this, and replied, "I guess I can understand that, even though I've never had somebody that close to me. I can only imagine what having somebody like that turn on you is like."

"I think the only people who can understand what I'm feeling are Ero-sennin and Baa-chan," Naruto stated simply.

Tayuya looked at him questioningly and asked, "What do you mean?"

"A long time ago, Orochimaru was their fellow Konoha shinobi, their team mate, and their friend. Then Orochimaru started experimenting on people, and fled Konoha. Ero-sennin tried to stop him and bring him back, but he couldn't," Naruto explained.

Tayuya gawked slightly as she said, "I can't picture Orochimaru being _friends_ with anybody, he's a monster."

"He's a monster now, but from what I've heard he used to be an overall good person despite a few character flaws," Naruto said in return.

Tayuya laughed at the idea and asked, "And what flaws would those be?"

"From what Ero-sennin told me he was generally cold towards people, over-analytical, and a perfectionist," Naruto replied.

"I can believe that," Tayuya said simply. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before a rumbling was heard from Tayuya's direction.

Naruto turned towards her with a smile and asked, "Hungry?"

Tayuya went to protest but the growling of her stomach stopped her and she replied, "A little." Naruto then stood up and walked towards the door, and Tayuya asked, "Where are you going Shithead?"

"Where do you think? To get you something to eat, there must be something around here," Naruto replied as he opened the door and left before Tayuya could argue.

It took Naruto about twenty minutes to find something to eat, granted it was a bag of chips from a vending machine but Tayuya probably wouldn't care right now. He entered the room and quietly shut the door behind him and said, "Sorry it took so long, had to find a vending machine and there are none on this floor."

When he heard no reply he moved closer to the bed and asked, "Tayuya?" As he moved right beside the bed he saw that Tayuya had fallen asleep despite her hunger. Naruto sighed at this and set the chips on the table beside the bed; as he started to turn away he noticed Tayuya shiver slightly and for first time took note that her bed only had a thin sheet for covers.

Naruto walked to the linen closet in the room and groaned when all he found were more sheets. He shrugged his shoulders as he grabbed one and brought to the chairs he was using as a makeshift bed and set it down. He then grabbed the blanket he had brought from his house, brought it over to Tayuya's bed, and draped it over her.

After making sure she was fully covered so she would be warmer, he backed away slightly to see if her shivering would pass; after a few moments her shivering lessened and then stopped.

Naruto smiled slightly as he said, "Good night Tayuya." With that said he walked back to his chairs and made himself comfortable.

He quickly fell asleep, but had he been awake he still wouldn't have heard Tayuya whisper in a half-sleep state, "Good night Shithead."

**A/N: That's it for this chapter, will try to get the next out as soon as I can. Please Review!**


	6. Chapter 5: Say What Now?

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed the story so far; I'm still amazed at how popular it is already. Anyway, here's the next chapter, enjoy. Read and Review!**

_**The Fox and the Flute**_

_**Chapter Five: Say What Now?**_

The next week passed relatively uneventfully, granted not much could happen when one is confined to a room in a hospital and bedridden. The morning after their late night conversation Naruto and Tayuya found that it was slightly easier to talk to the other; this of course does not mean those not mean there were any less insults, fists, and objects thrown by the foul mouthed girl. That same day Jiraiya returned and sealed the tracking aspect of the Curse Mark, to make sure that Orochimaru would not be able to locate Tayuya if he tried, thus he would assume she was dead as were the other members of the Sound Five.

Tsunade and Shizune were currently examining Tayuya to see how here healing was progressing, while Naruto waited outside the room with Jiraiya and Kakashi.

"So how have you been Naruto? I know that I haven't been by much, but you know how it is," Kakashi asked as he was leaning against the wall.

"It's okay Kakashi-sensei, I know you must be busy. I'm alright, the first day or two were kinda rough…Tayuya can be a handful when she wants to be," Naruto replied.

Jiraiya's eyes lit up at this and immediately leaned towards Naruto with his notebook and pen out. "Oh really? Naruto have you been taking advantage of the young lady's condition?" he asked in an eager tone.

Naruto paused as he processed exactly what Jiraiya was asking, which was interpreted by the two adults in the wrong way.

"Naruto…I certainly didn't expect this from you," Kakashi said in a stern tone, but was glancing at Jiraiya to see if he was writing any notes for his next book down.

"What?! I have done no such thing!" Naruto yelled at the two men in front of him.

Tsunade poked her out the door and asked, "What the hell is going on out here?"

All three of them took on a panicked expression and simultaneously replied, "Nothing."

"I don't believe you," Tsunade said in a dark tone, then added, "Who started it?" Naruto instantly pointed at Jiraiya, who in turn pointed at Kakashi. When Kakashi noticed this he looked at them, and then shrugged as he pointed at Naruto.

Tsunade sighed loudly as she realized that she wasn't going to get anywhere with the three of them. "Alright, whatever is going on keep it down, we're almost done," she said as she retreated back into the room.

After the door clicked shut Jiraiya let out a large breath and said, "Well that was a close one."

"You said it Ero-sennin," Naruto said with a nod. He then continued, "And no, I haven't done anything like that, and I never will. I just meant that when she gets frustrated or mad she tends to throw stuff…accurately, and yell a lot."

"So you just meant that she has a bad temper?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto replied, "Yeah, that's what I meant." When Naruto said this, Jiraiya visibly deflated and his face took on a disappointed appearance. "If she's this much of a handful when bedridden, I hate to imagine what it'll be like once she has fully healed," Naruto added in nervous tone.

"I'm sure you'll manage, you have a knack for figuring out how to pull through even in the most extreme situations," Kakashi said reassuringly. They paused as they heard the sound of a pen on paper writing at high speed, they turned and saw Jiraiya writing away in his notebook.

"Ero-sennin what are you writing?" Naruto asked with a glare.

Jiraiya looked up as if he had forgotten the other two were there, then replied, "Even if you didn't do anything, it's still a good idea for my next novel: a young woman is terribly injured and a young man becomes her care-taker, as they spend more time together they grow closer and fall for each other. What do you think?"

Kakashi's visible eye widened and he exclaimed, "It sounds great Jiraiya-sama!"

"Hell. No. You are not gonna write that," Naruto said darkly.

"Oh yes I am," Jiraiya said gleefully as he started to run away from Naruto, who began to chase after him. They were soon running in circles and shouting. "You'll never catch me, it'll be a bestseller!" Jiraiya shouted as he ran.

Suddenly, the door to Tayuya's room flew open and all that Jiraiya saw before he was forced into unconsciousness was a fist coming straight for his face.

Naruto stopped in his tracks a he saw Jiraiya land flat on his back with blood dribbling from his nose.

"I knew something was going on!" Tsunade yelled as she stood over Jiraiya's unconscious body.

"I was not involved in any way; it was Naruto and Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi stated quickly.

"Oh thanks a lot Kakashi-sensei," Naruto muttered as Tsunade turned to him.

Tsunade sighed as she said, "Well if Jiraiya was involved I can't really be surprised that it ended up with yelling and running around. We're pretty much done; just give us a few more minutes." With that said Tsunade returned to Tayuya's room and shut the door behind her.

Naruto and Kakashi simply glanced at Jiraiya before shrugging and turning towards each other. "So what have you been up to the last week Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Not much: a few scouting missions around the village, reading, trying to keep the others from trying to track you down, reading, explaining to the others what happened between you and Sasuke at the Valley of the End, and did I mention reading?" Kakashi replied.

Naruto scowled at his sensei and replied, "Yes Kakashi-sensei, you said it three times; you know you read Ero-sennin's books too much." After a moment he asked, "So you told the others what happened?"

"Yes, they're your comrades, they grew up with you and Sasuke, and they deserved to know the truth," Kakashi replied solemnly.

"How'd they take it?" Naruto asked warily.

Before Kakashi could reply they heard a gurgling sound come from Jiraiya. Kakashi paused to bend down and turn Jiraiya on his side so he wouldn't drown in the blood coming from his nose. With that done he replied, "None of them took it well, but Sakura took it worse than all of them."

"That's what I expected," Naruto said solemnly.

Before Kakashi could say anything Shizune opened the door and said, "We're all done, you can come in now." With a nod they both moved to follow her into the room.

"Shouldn't we do something about Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked as he and Kakashi stepped over the unconscious man.

From inside the room they heard Tsunade reply, "Don't bother! He'll be fine, he's used to it."

"Okay, if you say so Baa-chan," Naruto said with a shrug while he and Kakashi entered the room and shut the door.

* * *

Tayuya was sitting patiently, quickly becoming impatient, in her hospital bed while Tsunade and Shizune examined her collar bone and legs. A week ago when Tsunade had said once her collar bone was healed she could use a wheelchair to get around, Tayuya had dreaded that. Now though, she wanted nothing more than to get into a wheelchair and leave the dreaded hospital she had been confined to.

"How much longer is this gonna take?" Tayuya asked impatiently.

"We've got to be thorough with this, if we let you leave in a wheelchair when your collar bone isn't completely healed, you'll just do more damage," Tsunade replied.

Tayuya groaned and said, "I want to get the fuck out of this place. I'm tired being stuck in this shitty bed."

"We know Tayuya, but we have to make sure you're ready to leave, you don't want to end up back here do you?" Shizune asked with a knowing smile.

Tayuya's eyes widened at that and replied, "Alright you win." In her head she was thinking, _'Please let it be healed, please let it be healed.'_

From out in the hall they heard Naruto shout, "What?! I have done no such thing!"

"What the hell was that about?" Tayuya asked to nobody in particular.

Tsunade moved towards the door quickly while saying, "Jiraiya probably said something and Naruto over reacted to it."

They were silent as Tsunade left the room to see what was going on in the hall. When she returned Shizune asked, "What happened?"

A loud sigh escaped her as she replied, "Those three are being idiots, they all blamed one of the others for it so I couldn't do anything…yet."

"Do Shithead, Cyclops, and Ero-sennin always act like that when they're in the same place?" Tayuya asked as Tsunade returned. Tayuya had taken to calling Jiraiya "Ero-sennin" after she had heard Naruto call him that, seeing his reaction, and coming to the conclusion that there was no other name she could come up with that would fit.

"Sometimes, but you know: boys will be boys, they can't help but be idiots," Tsunade replied.

Tayuya nodded as they continued to examine her injuries. A few minutes later they heard the sound of somebody running and heard Jiraiya shout, "You'll never catch me, it'll be a best seller!"

"Oh that does it!" Tsunade exclaimed as she ran for the door, threw it open, and threw a punch that they heard make contact with something…or someone. "I knew there was something going on!" they heard her yell again.

Tayuya and Shizune only glanced at each other as they heard talking out in the hall. When Tsunade reentered the room Tayuya asked, "What the fuck was that all about?"

"Naruto was chasing Jiraiya around in a circle, and since Jiraiya was saying something about his books…I can only imagine the preceding conversation that lead to that," Tsunade replied.

"Is that who you hit?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade smiled widely before answering, "Yeah, Jiraiya's out cold on the floor out there." Tayuya couldn't help but laugh at that visual, as did Shizune. After a few more moments of the examination, Tsunade declared, "Your collar bone is as good as new, so you can use your arm again, which means you'll be able to use a wheelchair."

"So I can finally leave this damn hospital?" Tayuya asked hopefully.

Tsunade smiled as she said, "That's right; you can leave today if you want. Plus your one leg should be healed within a week or so, which means you can switch to crutches."

Tayuya leaned back and sighed in relief with a small smile on her face. Her smile dropped when a thought occurred and she asked, "Wait…if I leave the hospital, where am I gonna live?"

Tsunade smirked as she said, "That's already been arranged. Shizune; go get Naruto and Kakashi." As Shizune made her way to the door Tsunade said with a smile to Tayuya, "You might want to fix your gown." Tayuya noticed that her gown was still loose from the examination and quickly fixed the article of clothing.

She had just finished fixing the hospital gown when Naruto and Kakashi walked in and Naruto asked, "So how is she Baa-chan?"

"Her collar bone is good as new," Shizune said cheerfully.

Naruto smiled as he said, "That's great Tayuya! Now you can finally move around."

"I know, I'm not gonna be fucking bedridden anymore," Tayuya replied with a grin of her own. She then turned back to Tsunade and asked, "So what did you mean when you said that my living arrangements have already been taken care of?"

"Yeah, where's she gonna live now that she can leave the hospital?" Naruto asked. Tsunade's face took on an evil smile and Naruto added, "Uh…Baa-chan? What's with the creepy smile?"

"Where do you think she's going to live Naruto? How can you be her body guard if you aren't near her at all times?" Tsunade asked knowingly.

"Wait…you mean…" Naruto and Tayuya said at the same time, both realizing what she was saying at the same time.

"That's right, you'll be living together from now on," Tsunade confirmed their conclusion.

Both were silent for several moments until Tayuya asked, "Say what now?"

"You heard what I said," Tsunade said smugly.

Tayuya was speechless as this sunk in but quickly retorted, "You expect me to fucking live with Shithead?!"

"Yes, since he is your body guard he has to be near you at all times, and he is responsible for getting you accustomed to life here in Konoha so it would be better if you lived together," Tsunade explained in a matter of factly tone.

"But Baa-chan, my apartment is too small for two people, and it's not even wheelchair accessible," Naruto said in a desperate tone, he was not looking forward to trying to live with the violent, foul mouthed kunoichi.

"We already thought about a solution for that Naruto," Kakashi interjected.

Naruto and Tayuya quickly turned to face Kakashi and Naruto asked, "You knew about this Kakashi-sensei?"

"Of course I was, and I was the one who thought of the solution to that problem," Kakashi replied with his trademark eye smile.

"And what's the solution Cyclops?" Tayuya asked impatiently.

"There's a good sized house not far from the Administration Building that has been uninhabited for quite some time. We've had it cleaned and fully furnished so it's ready for you two to move in," Kakashi replied.

Naruto paused as he recognized the vague description, and said, "Wait, do you mean that red and blue one below the Hokage Monument, with the fenced in yard, and a training area in the back?"

"That's the one. Like Kakashi said it's fully furnished already and we stocked the kitchen for you. The only thing you have to worry about is paying for electricity, water, you know the normal stuff. But since you're on an extended S-Rank mission payroll, that won't be a problem," Shizune answered cheerfully.

"I don't get it, why hasn't it been lived in for so long?" Naruto asked.

"It was left to Jiraiya years ago by a close friend who died. Jiraiya has never been able to bring himself to live there or spend much time there. When Kakashi mentioned that it would be a good place for you two to live given the circumstances, he said he'd be happy to give it to you Naruto," Tsunade explained.

Naruto was rendered speechless by this information, but Tayuya had no trouble asking, "If it means that much to him the why the fuck would he give it to Shithead?"

"You'll have to ask him that when he wakes up," Tsunade replied simply.

Everyone was silent for a few moments until Naruto spoke up, "Well we might as well get going then, I know you're anxious to get out of here Tayuya."

Tayuya grinned at this and replied, "You're damn right I am Shithead."

"Well then Naruto and Kakashi need to leave the room so you can get changed, unless you want to go leave in your hospital gown," Tsunade stated in a joking manner.

Tayuya's face grew slightly red at that thought, then turned to Naruto and Kakashi and simply ordered, "Out. Now." Both nodded and quickly left the room, stepping over Jiraiya's still unconscious body outside the doorway.

Out in the hall Naruto asked, "So you said the others were looking for me?"

"Yes, they knew you were assigned a new mission but nobody saw you leave the village and you haven't been to your apartment all week, so they got curious," Kakashi replied.

"They're going to find out some stuff about the mission, what are they allowed to know?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi thought for a moment before answering, "You're right; they can know her name and the nature of the mission, but her true identity is confidential…for now."

Naruto nodded in response and they waited in silence for the others to come out of the room. After a few minutes the door opened and a wheel came into view, quickly followed by Tayuya seated in a wheelchair wearing black shorts, blue shinobi sandals, and a baggy blue T-shirt. She spun the wheels to propel the chair forward, only to ram into Jiraiya. She backed the chair up and tried again, only to be stopped by the unconscious man again. With a groan she tried a third time, without any success. "Will somebody fucking move him?!" she exclaimed in frustration.

Naruto and Kakashi quickly grabbed one of Jiraiya's ankles each and dragged him away from the doorway, leaving a smear of blood from where his bloody nose dripped onto the floor.

"Alright, let's go see this fucking house," Tayuya said with mild excitement. The others all followed after all thinking the same thing, _'Does she even know where she's going?'_

**A/N: That's it for this chapter, I hoped you enjoyed it. Please Review!**


	7. Chapter 6: Moving In

**A/N: Despite popular belief I have not discontinued this story. Life has been hectic and I simply have not had time to write this. On a side note if anybody was at Zenkaikon last weekend I was there as Itachi in a group with Tobi, Hidan, and Kisame. We also had a Pain and Konan we met there at one point. Please Read and Review!**

_**The Fox and the Flute**_

_**Chapter Six: Moving in**_

As it turns out Tayuya did _not_ know where she was going. After an hour of letting Tayuya lead the way due to her stubbornness, she finally relented into letting Jiraiya lead the way after he woke up and caught up with them.

"This is the house?" Tayuya asked with her mouth hanging slightly open as they stopped in front of the house.

"Yep, it sure is! So what do you think?" Jiraiya asked as he stood in front with his arms open in a "Ta-da" gesture.

"This isn't a house…it's a fucking mansion!" Tayuya shouted, drawing the attention of several people passing by, who she glared at.

"Granted the house is fairly large, but it's close to the administration building so it'll be easy for you to come and go as need be," Tsunade stated.

Jiraiya leaned over to Naruto and whispered in his ear, "Plus if you make her mad there's plenty of ways to make an escape if you give her the slip in the house first." Naruto nodded quickly at this, as did Kakashi.

"What are you telling him Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked in a threatening tone as her eye twitched.

Jiraiya panicked and waved his arms defensively and replied, "Nothing! I was just mentioning to him that this house has great view, right Naruto?"

"Yeah, that's right, nothing to get upset about Baa-chan," Naruto added nervously.

Tsunade seemed to accept that answer until Shizune thought out loud, "Aren't the hot springs close to here?"

Jiraiya simply muttered, "Shit." He then prepared himself to be struck once more, but no punch came.

As he looked up he saw Tsunade and Shizune walking away and Tsunade shouted back, "We're going to the hot springs to relax. You show those two around the house, and behave yourself you idiot." Jiraiya's only response was his mouth hanging open in shock and a slight whining sound.

"That was weird, was she actually teasing him?" Tayuya asked after a moment.

"I think so…" Naruto replied with wide eyes.

As Jiraiya continued to whine Kakashi said, "I have to get going, so I'll see you two later. Oh and Naruto, you'll have to move anything you want from your apartment, we didn't move any of your stuff."

"Alright, later Kakashi-sensei," Naruto replied as he nodded towards him.

"See ya Cyclops," Tayuya added as Kakashi walked away.

Jiraiya walked towards the house quickly as he said, "Come on you two, I've got something very important to do after this so let's hurry."

Naruto went to grab the wheelchair's handles to push it, but a glare from Tayuya stopped him. As they followed Jiraiya Naruto said, "Ero-sennin, you know what will happen if you try to peek on Baa-chan."

Tayuya smirked when Jiraiya involuntarily shuddered and added, "I think Ero-sennin is secretly a masochist, can't think of any other reason he'd keep doing that."

"I am not a masochist. I'm just so perverted that I can ignore whatever pain gets dished out to me," Jiraiya said in a strangely proud way which made both Naruto and Tayuya's eyes twitch slightly.

When they entered the house Jiraiya took on a much more solemn mood, as if the house itself killed his perpetual enthusiasm and energy. Contrary to the outward appearance of the house it was more cozy than Naruto and Tayuya would have thought, the yellow walls were not bright, but nor were they dull. As they had been told the house was fully furnished and the kitchen fully stocked, but it was clear it had only been cleaned recently despite its years of collecting dust.

"Unfortunately the upstairs is not wheelchair accessible, so you're stuck on the first floor Tayuya. So that means Naruto can explore up there on his own," Jiraiya said as he moved towards the door to leave.

"That's fine Ero-sennin, but why are you in such a hurry to leave?" Tayuya asked in slight annoyance.

"Yeah, you've been in a bad mood since we walked in the door, what's wrong?" Naruto asked with concern.

"Let's just say that this house has some painful memories attached to it for me," Jiraiya replied without looking back.

Tayuya growled at his lack of a full answer, "Who the fuck did the house belong to Ero-sennin?"

"I can't tell you that right now," Jiraiya said as he left the house.

"That was weird, I've never seen him like that before," Naruto said as he turned to look at the living room again.

Tayuya made her way to the couch and pulled herself out of the wheelchair and made herself comfortable before replying, "Let him have his bitch fit, he'll be back to his normal annoying self soon."

Naruto stood quietly for a moment before he said, "Well I guess I should get my stuff." He made his favorite hand sign and said, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." With that a dozen clones appeared in the room and immediately ran out the door and went in the direction of Naruto's old apartment.

Naruto turned to Tayuya with a grin and asked, "Pretty awesome huh?"

Tayuya rolled her eyes while she reclined further into the couch and replied, "Pssh, big fucking deal. All you did was make more targets Shithead."

Naruto's expression dropped in disappointment and muttered, "Bitch." His eyes widened as he realized what he had just said and thought to himself, _'Oh shit…please tell me I didn't say that out loud.'_

Tayuya's eyes widened slightly in surprise, then narrowed as she smirked and asked, "Wanna run that by me again Shithead?"

"Um…not really," Naruto replied nervously. He then thought, _'I should be okay, she's over there and can't reach-' _His thoughts were cut off by a rock hitting him in the head.

He looked from the rock to Tayuya, then back to the rock. "W-where the hell did you get that rock?"

"That's for me to know and you to wonder about Shithead. But I give you points for actually having the balls to call me a bitch," Tayuya replied smugly.

Naruto groaned in frustration before stating, "I'm gonna go check out the upstairs, call if you need anything."

"Yuh-huh, will do," Tayuya replied a she closed her eyes to take a nap.

* * *

Across town Sakura and Ino were sitting on a bench in the park. For the last few days they and their friends had been searching for Naruto. With Kiba and Neji still recovering from their injuries the search had proved difficult, but they had confirmed that Naruto had not left the village.

"I wonder where he is, Kakashi-sensei said that he had been assigned to an important mission, but he hasn't left the village and he hasn't been to his apartment," Sakura said.

"I don't know, we haven't been able to find him and nobody that would know will tell us anything," Ino replied.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before a flash of orange caught Sakura's attention. "Naruto?" she said questioningly as she turned her head. She saw several of Naruto's Kage Bunshin running in the same direction carrying several of Naruto's belongings.

After making sure that Ino had seen them as well she exclaimed, "Let's follow them, they might lead us to Naruto."

"Yeah, let's go!" Ino replied as they started to follow after the clones.

* * *

Tayuya woke from her nap at the sound of many voices arguing, but they were all the same voice. "What the fuck is going on," she mumbled as she opened her eyes. What she saw upon opening her eyes was Naruto's Kage Bunshin arguing about where to put everything they had brought from his apartment.

After listening to them she quickly became irritated and shouted, "Shut the FUCK up, all of you! Hey Shithead your clones are back!"

Naruto ran down the stairs and quickly dispelled the clones to try and settle Tayuya down. "Sorry about that Tayuya, they don't always agree about stuff," he said apologetically.

"That's just weird, they should get along since they're clones," Tayuya stated mockingly.

Before Naruto could reply there was a knock at the door. Both of them froze, there was a second knock accompanied by a female voice calling, "Naruto, are you in there?"

"That's Sakura-chan," Naruto said as he recognized the voice.

"Your other teammate under Cyclops?" Tayuya asked.

"Yeah, she must have followed my clones here," he replied. He then walked to the door and cracked it open.

As soon as his face was visible Sakura exclaimed, "So you are here Naruto! We've all been looking for you since we found out you started a new mission but hadn't left the village."

Naruto fully stepped out and closed the door behind him, feeling uneasy about revealing Tayuya for some reason. "Yeah, Kakashi-sensei told me about how you guys were looking for me," Naruto replied quietly.

"So you knew?! When did he tell you?" Sakura asked in an irritated tone.

"He only told me earlier today when we left the hospital to come here," Naruto answered defensively.

"Wait, you've been in the hospital all this time and now you're at this house. What kind of mission are you on exactly?" Ino asked.

Naruto hesitated before saying, "Now isn't a good time to talk about it, how about you gather everybody tomorrow, and I'll explain it to everybody at once when we go grocery shopping."

"Alright, that sounds good," Sakura said. As Naruto turned to open the door again Sakura stated, "Naruto…Kakashi-sensei told me what happened…with Sasuke."

Naruto froze at this, then replied in a cold tone, "I don't want to talk about _him _Sakura."

Sakura and Ino were both shocked at the cold tone that Naruto had used towards her just at the mention of Sasuke's name. "A-alright, see you tomorrow then," Sakura stammered in response.

Naruto went back inside without saying another word to them, and they started to walk away from the house. "I've never seen him like that," Ino stated.

"Yeah, he must be really upset that Sasuke tried to kill him…not that I can blame him," Sakura replied.

After a moment Ino asked, "Wait, did he say 'when _we_ go grocery shopping'?"

Sakura thought for a moment before replying, "Yeah, he did. And I could've sworn I heard a girl's voice yelling inside the house before I knocked."

* * *

Naruto had closed his eyes as he turned away from Sakura and was now leaning against the closed door with his eyes still shut. After several minutes of calming himself down he turned to Tayuya who had been sitting in her wheelchair beside him quietly since he came back inside and asked, "I guess you heard all that?"

"Yeah I heard it, can't fucking wait to meet your damn friends," Tayuya replied sarcastically.

Naruto smirked slightly at Tayuya's response before saying, "I'm gonna go lay down, call if you need anything."

Before he got to the stairs Tayuya asked, "Hey Shithead, you gonna be okay?"

Naruto looked back and replied, "Yeah I'll be okay. Thanks Tayuya." With that he went upstairs.

As she watched Naruto go up the stairs Tayuya smirked and said to herself, "Heh, don't get used to me being nice like that Shithead." She then made her way to the ridiculously comfortable couch to lay down herself.

**A/N: Sorry not much happened in this chapter, it's more of a filler/setup for the next chapter, but I did add what I thought was a nice scene at the end. Please Review!**


	8. Chapter 7: Clash

**A/N: Merry Christmas (or whichever holiday you happen to celebrate…) everybody! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, been working on it all day so I get out on Christmas. R&R!**

_**The Fox and the Flute**_

_**Chapter Seven: Clash**_

The next morning found Naruto walking slowly in order to allow Tayuya to keep pace with him in her wheelchair; she refused to let him push the chair. Naruto had forsaken his usual outfit since it had been damaged beyond being worth repairing, the last one he had at that. He was now wearing a pair of black pants with several hidden compartments for his kunai and shuriken, and a dark blue, loose fitting shirt. His forehead protector was tightly secured to his forehead as usual.

Tayuya still had a limited supply of clothing to choose from; she was wearing a pair of loose, tan shorts that stopped at mid thigh, this type of shorts were the only things she could get over the casts on her legs, and a loose, long sleeved shirt with a V-neck collar.

"How much further are the fucking shops?" she asked in an impatient tone.

"We're almost there," Naruto replied in a monotone. He had not gotten much sleep the previous night.

"You said that five minutes ago," she stated shortly. She groaned before adding, "Damn chair is making my arms tired."

"You could stop being so stubborn and let me push it for a little while to rest your arms," Naruto offered.

"Hell no Shithead. It's bad enough that I'm a fucking cripple in a wheelchair, nobody is pushing me around in this thing," she replied adamantly.

"Stubborn bitch," he muttered under his breath.

"I _heard _that," Tayuya said in a warning tone, which by now could make Naruto cringe since it was usually followed by some sort of bodily harm to him. This time however it was just a warning because they arrived at the outdoor shops.

They wandered through the shops, getting things here and there, arguing over many things, mostly about getting a wider variety of food than just instant ramen, cereal, and milk.

As Naruto made some clones to carry the purchases back to the house he noticed Tayuya looking at something intently. He followed her gaze to a stand selling packages of pocky in various flavors. He looked back to her and saw that she was looking at it hesitantly, almost longingly.

'_No way…she likes that stuff? I never would have imagined that,' _he thought to himself. He continued to watch until she made to move over to stand, then shook her head and went the other way. _'Huh? Why didn't she go over if she likes that stuff?' _he asked himself.

Naruto made sure Tayuya wasn't watching and went over to the stand and looked at the various flavors. He didn't know what kind she liked and didn't want to ask, so he bought two flavors that he thought most girls liked: chocolate and strawberry. He bought a few packages of each and gave most of them to his clone to bring to the house; he put one box of the strawberry in his side pocket.

They left the shops soon after Naruto made that purchase, Naruto found a bench to sit on to rest his legs for a few minutes, Tayuya sat beside the bench. "So where are we supposed to meet your friends?" she asked after a moment.

Naruto reclined a bit and stared at the sky before replying, "I actually don't know."

"Well that's just fucking great," Tayuya huffed in annoyance.

Naruto then made a few more clones who took off in different directions. He reclined once again and said, "One of them will find Sakura and the others, then come back and tell us where to go."

Tayuya didn't reply, and they both just sat quietly. After a few moments Naruto heard Tayuya let out a long sigh and he turned to see what was wrong. He saw her staring at something in front of them, her eyes unfocused as if she were thinking about something intently.

Naruto followed her gaze for the second time that day and saw a young girl playing in the park with her mother, both with happy smiles and laughing. He decided that it would be better not to disturb her right now, and returned to looking at the clouds.

He had nearly dozed off when one of the clones came running back and shouted to him, "The others are going to meet you at Ichiraku's!" This snapped Tayuya out of her daze, and Naruto quickly ended the jutsu before she could be annoyed by the loud clone.

"I guess I'll get to try some of the ramen from that place huh?" Tayuya asked as she followed after him once he started walking.

A large grin spread across Naruto's face at the mention of eating ramen. "Yep, you'll like it, I promise!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

A mischievous smirk appeared on her face and she asked, "Wanna see who can eat more?"

"I think I've got you beat there," he replied confidently.

"Don't be so sure, I could out eat the rest of the Sound Five if I wanted to," she replied smugly.

"Well we'll just have to see then won't we?" he asked.

"Damn right we will Shithead," she replied.

They soon arrived at Ichiraku's, they had just been down the street from the place. "Naruto! Our best customer…and who's this?" Teuchi asked as Naruto and Tayuya passed under the paper dividers.

"Hi, this is Tayuya, I'm kinda her bodyguard," Naruto replied simply.

"I see, well it's nice to meet you Tayuya," Teuchi said, then the fact that she was in a wheelchair registered and he asked, "What happened to you?"

He was smacked in the back of the head by Ayame who exclaimed, "Father! Don't ask something like that so bluntly!"

"It's alright; I was in an accident and broke my fucking legs. Now I'm stuck dealing with Shithead," Tayuya replied.

Both were stunned by the language she used and turned to Naruto who shrugged in a 'don't bother' fashion. "Who's Shithead?" Ayame asked.

"That would be him. He's a shithead as far as I'm concerned so that's what I'm gonna call him until he proves otherwise," Tayuya stated smugly as she pointed at Naruto, who sighed at hearing the explanation again.

"So Naruto, what can I get you?" Teuchi asked after a moment.

"Hmm….Chicken today, and keep them coming!" Naruto replied happily.

"And you Tayuya?" Teuchi asked as he turned to her.

Tayuya needed some assistance, much to her displeasure, to get from her wheelchair onto the high stool that was at the counter. When she was seated comfortably she replied, "Same as him, and keep them coming."

Teuchi smiled and said, "Coming right up!"

* * *

Sakura, Ino, and Hinata had managed to gather: Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji (caught him as he left the hospital), Lee, and Shino. They were anxious to learn any details of Naruto's new mission that they could, so they made their way to Ichiraku's at a steady pace.

"So you really think you heard a female voice in that house before Naruto answered the door?" Neji asked.

"I'm sure I did," Sakura replied adamantly.

"Pssh, yeah right," Kiba said doubtingly.

"I heard it too Kiba, no doubt about it," Ino stated.

"It's odd that his mission would involve staying in a house with a girl…" Hinata mumbled in a sad tone.

"Do not worry my friends! Naruto is simply letting his FLames oF youTH burn at their _fullest_ intensity!!!" Lee shouted joyously. All of the girls' faces turned a darker shade.

Shikamaru simply laughed and said, "I don't think we have to worry about that guys."

"Why do you say that?" Sakura asked.

Shikamaru shrugged and replied, "Call it a hunch." Kiba and Neji's eyes narrowed slightly, they were apprehensive about this.

"…" Shino didn't say anything and walked with a cloud of gloom hanging about him.

As they approached Ichiraku's they could hear the sounds of Naruto eating, but it sounded louder than usual. "He's already at it, the glutton," Ino sighed.

When they entered the stand they were rendered speechless by what they saw: Naruto and a red-headed girl with casts on her legs sitting at the counter and consuming ramen at an almost inhuman pace. Naruto already had seven empty bowls off to the side, the girl had six.

Naruto was the first to notice the group that had appeared and after swallowing his mouthful of food said, "Hey guys, what's up." It was more a statement than a question as he immediately returned to his food. The girl had now finished her seventh bowl.

"Hey Naruto…what's going on?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"She wanted to see who could eat more ramen, so I'm proving to her it's me," Naruto replied.

"Um…who's 'she'?" Ino asked as she looked at the girl sitting beside Naruto.

Naruto consumed one more entire bowl before turning to reply, "Oh sorry. Everybody this is Tayuya, I'm her bodyguard…kinda." Tayuya sighed as she swiveled the stool in order to face everybody. Naruto then continued, "Tayuya this is Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, Neji, and Lee." As he said this he pointed to every person in turn.

Tayuya's eyes narrowed a bit as she saw Shikamaru, Neji, and Kiba, then sighed and said, "Hi, nice to fucking meet you all." With that she turned back to her food, still determined to out eat Naruto.

Everyone except Shikamaru, Neji, and Kiba gawked at Tayuya's greeting. Naruto sighed and said, "Sorry about that, she's not very polite. We got settle this and then we can talk." With that he returned his full attention to the bowl of ramen in front of him. Nobody said a word and continued to watch the two consume their food.

For several minutes they watched Naruto and Tayuya continue their competition. Finally, after her eleventh bowl Tayuya slammed her chopsticks onto the counter and exclaimed, "Alright you win!" Naruto had already passed her and was on his thirteenth bowl.

Naruto smirked as he sighed contently. He then turned to Tayuya and stated, "I told you I would win."

"Yeah yeah whatever," Tayuya replied dejectedly.

Naruto's gloating was interrupted by Neji asking, "Well now that that gruesome display of gluttony is over, how have you been Naruto?"

"Well I've had to deal with Tayuya mostly by myself for the last week…other than that I've been okay," Naruto replied after a moment.

"What the hell do you mean you've had to deal with me Shithead? And where do you get off calling other people gruesome you pompous ass?" Tayuya asked with an edge to her voice.

"I only use such words when the situation warrants it," Neji replied, trying his best to restrain himself.

"Neji it was a little much," Sakura interjected to prevent any further argument. She turned to Tayuya and said, "Sorry about that, he just got out of the hospital and must be more irritable than usual. If Naruto annoys you too much you can come find me, I hope we can be friends." She extended her hand in a friendly gesture.

Tayuya stared at Sakura's hand for a moment before asking, "You're Sakura right?" When Sakura nodded with a smile Tayuya said, "What makes you think I want to be friends with you? From what I've heard you're one of the emo's fan girls and don't take being a kunoichi seriously."

Everyone was stunned by this statement, all that Sakura could muster up was, "What do you mean I don't take it seriously?"

"If I wasn't crippled I could probably take you with one arm behind my back and blind-folded," Tayuya replied, in a tone that said 'I'm better than you'.

Sakura went to argue but Naruto interrupted, "Don't bother Sakura; I'm pretty sure she's right about that, from what I know Tayuya is Chuunin level."

Ino then jumped into it, "Even if she is Chuunin level that doesn't mean she can insult people like that. And don't call Sasuke an emo!"

"You're one his fan girls too aren't you? And I can to anyone any fucking way I want to!" Tayuya shot back.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! I was just offering to be friends with you and this is how you act?!" Sakura shouted.

"Once again, what makes you think I would want to be friends with you?!" Tayuya shouted back. The others could only watch as the fight between the three of them continued. Naruto and Shikamaru both looked resigned; they had expected something like this.

Finally Tayuya had had enough and got back into her wheelchair, Sakura and Ino flinched at this, not having realized how bad her condition was. She then shouted, "I'm done with you fucking fan girls, just go pine away and hope for your precious Sasuke to come back, but he won't!" With that she started to propel her chair away.

"How dare talk about that, you don't know anything about it!" Ino shouted at her.

Tayuya stopped and turned so she could face them again. "I know _everything_ about that you bitch. I'm the one who's been with Shithead all week while he's been dealing with the fact that his best friend betrayed you all and tried to kill him!" she shouted angrily. With that said she turned around and continued out of sight.

Naruto silently stood up after putting some money on the counter and moved to follow after Tayuya, but stopped for a moment and turned to the others, "I'm sorry, I think something has been bothering her all day. I'll see you all later; Shikamaru, fill them in." With that he took off after her.

Shikamaru knew what he had meant; he was to tell them the cover story that Tsunade and Jiraiya had come up with.

"What did he mean for you to fill us in, what do you know?" Hinata asked while Ino and Sakura calmed down.

Everyone turned their attention to Shikamaru for the explanation and he sighed before answering, "Tayuya is from the Earth Country, she's a distant relative of Shizune's. Tayuya and her mother were on their way here when they were attacked while crossing through Grass Country, her mother didn't make it. She was picked up by one of our patrols, and since we don't know if she's being pursued Naruto was assigned to protect her and help her get adjusted to living here."

Sakura made a sharp intake of air before saying, "Oh my god, she must be so torn up…and we treated her so badly."

Ino visibly deflated before adding, "Yeah, I feel like scum now."

"We should go apologize to her," Sakura said as she made to follow after Tayuya and Naruto.

She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder, when she looked back she saw it was Shino who had stopped her and gave him a questioning look. "She seemed very distraught about something, like Naruto said. I believe it would be best to let him talk to her, and then apologize the next time you see her," he stated simply. Sakura simply nodded and they began to leave.

* * *

Naruto found Tayuya sitting in her wheelchair looking down at the river, in the spot that he had heard Itachi and Kisame had fought Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi.

He stopped a few feet behind her and asked, "Hey, how're you doing?"

"I've been better," Tayuya replied shortly. Naruto moved to stand beside her and looked down at the river. After a few minutes she asked, "So are your friends mad at me now Shithead?"

"I don't know, I left right after you did and told Shikamaru to fill them in, you know, with that cover story Baa-chan and Ero-sennin came up with," Naruto replied.

"Oh, yeah it's a good cover, I fucking hate it though," she mumbled.

"Something's been bothering you all day, don't even try to deny it, so what is it?" Naruto asked seriously.

"What the hell are you talking about, nothing is bothering me," Tayuya replied sharply.

"Tayuya, you've been spacing out today and you were more irritable than usual back there, so what is it," he said more forcefully.

Tayuya was quiet for a few moments before replying, "I don't wanna talk about it here."

"Alright then," Naruto said as he moved behind the chair and took hold of the handles.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Tayuya practically shrieked.

"We're going back to the house so we can talk about whatever is bothering you. I'm pushing the chair because you're already stressed and moving this chair frustrates you so deal with it," Naruto replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I told you to never push me around in this chair Shithead and I meant it!" she exclaimed and waving her arms around as he started pushing her down the street.

Naruto freed one of his hands to take the package of pocky out of his pocket and it put it into one of her flailing hands. She paused when she felt the package in her hand and brought it down to examine it, after she saw what it was she asked, "What the…how?"

"I saw you looking at the stand earlier, you looked like you wanted to go and get some of this stuff but you didn't; so I went and got you some while you weren't looking," Naruto replied.

Tayuya was rendered speechless for a moment and fumbled in her speech for a moment before managing to say, "Thanks Shithead." She then opened the package and took out of one the treats and began to eat it slowly, closing her eyes, looking as though she was savoring the taste.

After eating the first piece she proceeded to quietly start munching on the rest of the package a fairly slow rate, and she visibly relaxed, which Naruto noticed. _'Wow she actually looks happy for a change, I guess buying that stuff was a good idea,'_ he thought to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted by something being shoved up his nose. He paused and looked down to see Tayuya tilting her head back to look up at him, with a genuine, happy smile on her face. After a moment she said, "You bought them, you should at least try one."

Naruto then removed the foreign object from his nose to see it was one of the pieces of pocky, he laughed before wiping it off on his shirt and eating it. "It's good," he said simply.

Tayuya's smile widened a bit before she replied, "Damn right it is." With that she returned her full attention to the box in her hand.

Naruto smiled slightly as he thought, _'Yep, definitely a good idea.'_

**A/N: That's it for this one, I was going to have something with Orochimaru's plan at the end, but seeing as it's Christmas I decided to end it on a happy scene. Hope you enjoyed, please Review.**


	9. Chapter 8: Mother

**A/N: Sorry for not updating in forever, and for this being so short. Read, enjoy, review!**

_The Fox and the Flute_

_Chapter Eight: Mother_

By the time Naruto and Tayuya got back to their new residence Tayuya had eaten the entire box of pocky, and her mood was much more positive than it had been the entire day until that point. When they got inside Tayuya asked, "Was that the only box of it you bought?"

"I didn't know what kinds you liked, so I bought a few boxes of strawberry and some of chocolate," Naruto replied.

"Can you get me some of the chocolate ones?" Tayuya asked as she lifted herself out of her wheelchair and onto the couch so she could lay down.

"Sure, I'll be right back," Naruto replied as he walked into the kitchen to go in the pantry and retrieve the pocky. A moment later he returned with the box of treats and handed it to Tayuya.

"Thanks Shithead," she said as she quickly opened the box and devoured one of the treats. She then started to eat a few more but at a much slower rate.

Naruto sat in the chair adjacent to the couch in silence for several minutes and watched Tayuya enjoy her pocky. Seeing her with a genuine smile on her face was still new for him, and he found himself thinking, _'She has a nice smile… When she's happy she actually looks pretty….Whoa where did that come from?' _

After breaking out of his thoughts Naruto spoke up, "So what has been bothering you all day?"

Tayuya stopped eating when she heard his question. She had known what he was going to ask, but she was still unprepared for it. "I…I don't know how to word it…" she replied.

"Take your time Tayuya. You were there to listen to my problems…and I'm here to listen to whatever is bothering you," Naruto replied after considering his words carefully.

Tayuya nodded at his response, but remained quiet for another fifteen minutes before she finally spoke, "I've never told this to anybody… If you repeat this to anyone I will personally castrate you, got it Shithead?"

"Got it," Naruto stated simply as he nodded.

Tayuya inhaled deeply a few times before she spoke again, "It started when I realized that we would have to use that cover story that Ero-sennin and Baa-chan came up with. The one about me being from Earth Country, and my mother being killed while we were on our way here."

"Why would that….wait, are you saying that…"Naruto trailed off.

Tayuya continued with her explanation, "I'm originally from River Country, my mother and I lived alone in a town not far from the Fire Country border. I never knew who my father was, my mother never told me. I was a happy child…my mother did everything she could to make sure of that. I guess her job wasn't providing enough income…because she started selling herself, that's when things started getting bad." Naruto watched and listened in silence as he saw the beginnings of tears form in Tayuya's eyes at these memories, she was sitting up at this point.

"My mother must have made enemies with the wrong person… because she started receiving threats on her life, on my life. One night, she grabbed me out of bed and we left the town, we ran away. We snuck across the border into Fire Country and kept running. We wouldn't stay in one place for more than a week before we would start running again. Whoever we were running away from eventually caught up with us near the border to Rice Country…about a mile east of the Valley of the End," the tears started falling from Tayuya's eyes at this point, "They caught us, they beat me almost to unconsciousness, they tortured and raped my mother over and over again in front of me, making me watch. After hours of that they slit her throat…I was only seven years old and I saw my mother tortured, raped, and killed right in front of me –" she was cut off as Naruto suddenly sat beside her on the couch and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer so that her head was resting at the base of his neck. Tayuya gasped at the initial contact, but the warm embrace made her tears fall even faster until she was crying uncontrollably into Naruto's chest, slowly soaking his shirt.

For several minutes Tayuya cried, at one point returning the embrace in order to bury herself further into the only person to have shown her any true warmth since her mother's death. After her tears started to die down Naruto gently said, "I'm sorry Tayuya, if we had known that we never would have used that cover story, I can't even imagine what that must have been like…"

Tayuya didn't reply right away, when she did it was a question, "Where are your parents? I just realized that you or anyone else hasn't mentioned them the entire time I've been here."

"I never even knew my parents, neither of them; I've been an orphan for as long as I can remember. I thought never having parents was horrible…but I can't imagine what it was like for you to lose your mother like that," Naruto replied after a moment. Tayuya moved herself into a more comfortable position, still locked in her embrace with Naruto, head leaning against his shoulder. After a minute or two Naruto slowly asked, "What happened after that?"

"I stayed there after they left; I don't even know how long, it must have been days. That's when Orochimaru found me, he promised I would be safe with him…that I'd be powerful and respected, and I believed him," Tayuya replied solemnly. Naruto tightened his hold on her, she subconsciously did the same.

They sat in silence until Naruto noticed that Tayuya's breathing had changed. He moved enough to be able look at her face and saw that she had fallen asleep. Looking at the clock he was surprised to see it was the early evening already, more time had passed than he had realized. He gently removed himself from her embrace and lowered her onto the couch, her head resting on the pillow she had used, and covering her with a blanket before going to the kitchen to find something to make for dinner.

Tayuya whined in her sleep at the loss of the warmth she had fallen asleep beside. She woke up for a moment to find herself lying down on the couch, covered by a blanket. She then heard a bang from the kitchen followed by an exclamation from Naruto.

She laughed slightly, then thought to herself, _'Wait…I just giggled…I do _NOT _giggle…'_ She stopped and closed her eyes as she heard Naruto enter the room.

"Good, she's still asleep," was all he said before he left the room again.

Tayuya found herself smiling at his actions and quietly said, "Thanks, Naruto." With that she drifted back off to sleep with a smile on her face.


	10. Chapter 9: Nightmares

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Once again I am sorry for being gone for so long. **

_***Also…if anyone reading this will be at the anime convention known as AnimeNext in New Jersey June 18-20, look for me! I will cosplaying as Itachi in a group with at least Tobi, Hidan, and Kisame.***_

_**The Fox and the Flute**_

_**Chapter Nine: Nightmares**_

Naruto had managed to prepare a simple dinner without either burning the food to an unrecognizable char, or burning the house down, much to Tayuya's surprise. After eating their dinner both Naruto and Tayuya decided to call it a night.

"Good night Tayuya," Naruto said as he began to climb the stairs, pausing to add, "Do you need anything before I head up?"

"Nah, I'm good. Good night Shithead," Tayuya replied sleepily as she made herself comfortable on her couch.

Naruto growled slightly, as he always did when he heard her nickname for him. "Alright then, see you in the morning," he said as he climbed the stairs.

Later that night, Naruto was awakened by something. His eyes shot open and grabbed the kunai he had strapped to the side of the headboard. He cautiously sat up and looked around the room for what had caused him to wake up, but found nothing. A moment later he heard a sound coming from outside his bedroom, but still inside the house. "Shit!" he cursed as he bolted out of bed, ran to the door, threw it open and ran to the flight of stairs.

Once he got halfway down the stairs he was able to distinguish what the sound was: Tayuya was crying again. "Tayuya?" he asked as he slowly descended the stairs and walked around the couch to view the girl. It was immediately obvious to him that she was still sleeping: she was reliving her memories in her dreams.

Naruto quickly walked over and gently shook her shoulder, while urging her to wake up, "Tayuya. Tayuya wake up!"

* * *

Tayuya was trapped in a vortex of pain, reliving the final hours of her mother's life over and over. After that came her years in Orochimaru's service, that was of course a hell all its own. She was then immediately confronted by the sight of her mother being tortured and raped.

"Make it stop! Somebody please make it stop!" Tayuya cried out as she fell to her knees and gripped the sides of her head as tears began to fall.

"Tayuya…" a voice faintly called out to her.

Tayuya looked up, tears still falling from her eyes, she was immediately bombarded by the images once again. "Help! Please help me!" she called out.

"Tayuya!" the voice called out stronger and more clearly.

Tayuya was now able to recognize the voice and asked quietly in shock, "Naruto?"

"Tayuya!" Naruto's voice called out once more.

"Naruto! Make it stop!" she called out desperately.

"Tayuya, wake up! Wake up Tayuya!" Naruto called out as the images around her began to fade away.

* * *

As Naruto continued prompting Tayuya to wake up she started talking in her sleep, until she finally started to wake up. When she opened her eyes and saw Naruto she immediately sat up and clung to him, surprising him. After a moment he embraced her and rubbed her back slowly in order to calm her down.

"It's okay Tayuya, it's okay. Let it out," Naruto said gently as Tayuya for a second time that night cried into his shoulder. For several minutes this continued, until she calmed down once more. Once she was calmed down Naruto asked, "Are you gonna be okay?"

He felt her nod in response, he then gently lowered her back down onto the couch, and seeing that her eyes were shut made to get up to go back to bed.

As he stood he felt his arm being pulled, and looking down saw that Tayuya had grabbed his hand. Seeing the almost pleading look in her half-closed eyes asked, "Tayuya?"

Tayuya's hesitation was visible on her face before she spoke up, "C-can I…sleep upstairs with you tonight?"

Naruto's eyes widened at this: he knew she had been shaken by delving into her memories, but he hadn't expected this much from it. Are you sure Tayuya? You're going try to kill me when you wake up are you?" Naruto asked in response.

This managed to get a slight laugh and smile out of her as she replied, "I'm sure. I'm….afraid of having those dreams…and you were able to make them go away…"

After hearing that and seeing the pleading look on her half-asleep face, he couldn't say no. "Alright then, come on then," Naruto said as he carefully picked her up bridal style. Neither said a word as he carried her upstairs and into the bedroom. He placed her down on one side of the bed and made sure she was comfortable before going to the other side and getting in bed as well.

As Naruto laid down on his side facing Tayuya he was surprised as she scooted closer to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. Naruto smiled slightly at this before moving a bit closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer, her face burrowing into his chest.

"Thanks Naruto," she mumbled sleepily.

Naruto laughed a bit before replying, "You just called me by my name."

Tayuya responded by reaching up and smacking him in the side of the head and saying, "Don't get used to it. Shut up and sleep."

"Good night to you too Tayuya," Naruto said as they both drifted off into sleep.

**A/N: Sorry it's another short chapter, both this one and the previous chapter's moods would have been killed if they were any longer. Please Review!**


	11. Chapter 10: No More Wheels

**A/N: I'm baaaaaaack~ I can't apologize enough for the ridiculous delay between the last chapter and this one. Life has been too hectic for words to describe. Please: Read, Review, and… Enjoy!**

_**The Fox and the Flute**_

_**Chapter Ten: No More Wheels**_

Two weeks had passed since Tayuya revealed the details of her life prior to Konoha. When they ventured out of the house Jiraiya had given them, Tayuya's treatment of Naruto did not seem to be much different to anyone. She still insulted him, yelled at him, and physically abused him; but sometimes she would smile or even laugh at something he said.

Though Tayuya refused to apologize for the way she had acted the first day she met the others, they let it slide, and she was starting to make a genuine effort to get along with them. She still got annoyed with Sakura and Ino fairly quickly, especially whenever they mentioned Sasuke, but she was more careful to hold her tongue, lest she accidently reveal something she shouldn't. Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, and Chouji all remained wary of her, despite Naruto's assurances, and their attitudes sparked the curiosity of Sakura and Ino.

Tayuya had gone to see Tsunade every other day for continued treatment of her broken legs. And now, after nearly a month of being in Konoha, it was time for the casts to come off of her legs.

* * *

Naruto sat in a waiting room, once again with Jiraiya and Kakashi. They had only been there for five minutes but Jiraiya had already managed to irritate his student.

"For the last time Ero-sennin, NOTHING IS GOING ON!" Naruto practically yelled at the top of his lungs.

Jiraiya scowled as he lowered his notepad and pen as he replied, "How can nothing be going on? You and Tayuya have spent every day for almost a month together, surely something has happened."

Naruto paused for just a second as he remembered the night Tayuya had cried into his shoulder, and he had let her use him as a life-sized teddy bear that night to comfort her. He then stated, "She's more complicated than she seems. We're good friends; that's all Ero-sennin."

"I saw that hesitation, something has happened! Come on tell me all the details Naruto, it'll be a bestseller, I promise," Jiraiya insisted once again with a goofy smile.

As Naruto and Jiraiya started up once again, Kakashi, who was sitting a fair distance away, sighed as he tried to keep reading his little orange book.

Suddenly the door slammed open and Tsunade walked in while shouting, "Can't you three give it a break?"

Naruto and Jiraiya cowered in fear while Kakashi's visible eye widened as he started speaking, "Tsunade-sama I wasn't –"

"I don't want to hear any excuses, this is a hospital!"

"But they were -"

"I said no excuses!"

"But I was just -" he paused as Tsunade left the room and slammed the door behind her, "…reading my book." He finished slowly.

Jiraiya snickered at Kakashi's expression, which caused Kakashi to glare at the older man. Naruto on the other hand was busy contemplating how much worse Tayuya's rampages would be now that she was able to walk again.

* * *

When Tsunade walked back into the room Tayuya looked up at her and asked simply, "Again?"

"Again," Tsunade replied just as simply.

Shizune had already removed one of Tayuya's casts and was in the process of removing the second. "Now remember Tayuya: your leg muscles will have atrophied a bit, so you may still need to use a cane or crutch to help get around for a while. And you'll have to still take it easy, but you'll back to normal soon enough.

"I figured as much, but I'll just be glad to have use of my legs again," Tayuya replied happily.

Tsunade noted the happy tone in Tayuya's voice, but also of the small smile that was on her face. _'A month ago she wouldn't be caught dead with even the smallest smile on her face. Maybe Naruto is starting defrost that cold heart of hers,'_ she thought to herself.

At that moment Shizune removed the second cast and Tayuya happily exclaimed, "Finally!" She then began to rub her legs with her hands, as if to convince herself that it wasn't a dream.

"Okay Tayuya, try to stand up," Tsunade suggested.

Tayuya did just that; she swiveled so her legs hung down and then slowly moved into a standing position. She stood there with a small, happy smile on her face for a moment, but her legs started shaking and she grabbed onto the exam table. "Oh well, guess I'm gonna need that crutch after all," she stated with slight disappointment.

"It seems so, but it won't be long until you're back to normal. A week or two of physical therapy should have your legs back to the strength where you won't need any assistance walking," Tsunade replied as she got a crutch out of a closet for her.

As Tayuya took the crutch and used it to help support herself she asked, "Hey… Tsunade-sama. Can I ask you something?"

Both Shizune and Tsunade were awestruck that Tayuya had referred to her using an honorific. "Sure Tayuya, anything," she replied after a moment.

"Back when I first woke in the hospital… you said if I wanted I could become a kunoichi of Konoha, did you mean that?" Tayuya asked warily.

Tsunade smiled at this and replied, "Of course I meant that Tayuya. I take it by you asking me that you want to go through with that." When Tayuya nodded an affirmative she added, "Well then, once you're back to normal we'll get right on that. So let's go tell those idiots out there the news. Oh and you can call me Baa-chan like Naruto does." This last part was said with a wink.

Tayuya smiled at this and replied, "You got it, Baa-chan."

* * *

When they entered the waiting room Kakashi was focusing intently on his book, and Naruto and Jiraiya were wrestling over Jiraiya's notebook, so none of them noticed Tayuya, Tsunade, and Shizune entering the room.

"Hey Shithead! Check it out!" Tayuya yelled to him as she stood there on her own two feet, even if she had to use the crutch to help her.

Naruto quickly looked towards her and released his hold on Jiraiya's notebook, resulting in Jiraiya flying backwards and crashing into some chairs. "Tayuya, you're standing! That's great!" Naruto exclaimed happily with his trademark smile on his face.

Much to Tsunade's surprise, a smile much larger than the one she had seen before spread across Tayuya's face as she replied, "I know! And watch this." With that she took a few slow, cautious steps toward him. "I can walk too," she stated in an elated tone.

"This is great, soon you'll be back to normal. Then what are you going to do?" Naruto asked.

"I'm going to become a kunoichi of Konoha. Baa-chan already said I could once I'm back to normal," Tayuya replied proudly.

Naruto was surprised by this, and didn't reply at first. When he did he reply he said, "Heh, I guess I should have expected that. No way could somebody as tough as you stand having a civilian job."

"Damn straight," Tayuya stated smugly.

"Well this is certainly good news, but we have some things we need to discuss," Jiraiya stated as he approached the two young shinobi.

"Now that I think about it, where have you been Ero-sennin?" Tayuya asked him. Naruto realized she was right, they hadn't seen him at all since he showed them around the house he had given Naruto.

"I've kept him busy with very important things," Tsunade stated as she took a seat in one of the chairs, signaling for Naruto and Tayuya to do the same. They sat next to each other, which Tsunade found interesting, while she and Jiraiya sat opposite of them, Kakashi joining them.

"That's right. I've been working with Anko, using the information that Tayuya provided about the Curse Mark, trying to find a way to completely seal it, and remove it. Yesterday I was successful in removing the Curse Mark from Anko," Jiraiya explained.

"You were?" Naruto and Tayuya asked simultaneously.

"Yes. This means I can remove Tayuya's Curse Mark as soon as I gather the proper materials; which will take a few days. I have also used my Toad Summons to confirm the location of all of Orochimaru's hide-outs in this country that Tayuya knew of; he isn't currently using any of them," Jiraiya added.

"And I've sent shinobi to each of these hide-outs to find anything of use, and then destroy the hide-outs. Kakashi will be leaving tomorrow with Kurenai and Asuma to check out the final one," Tsunade explained her part.

"Well that's good, maybe we'll find out where the rest of his hide-outs are, and then do something about him," Naruto said hopefully.

"Well that's the plan, but it may be difficult for us to accomplish that," Kakashi replied.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"Because, Orochimaru is one slippery snake. I tracked him from the time he left Konoha fifteen years ago, but I didn't know he had taken control of an entire nation that shares a border with ours. Then again, it was because I was able to even slightly track him that I discovered the existence of the Akatsuki," Jiraiya answered.

All were silent for a few moments before Tsunade spoke up, "Okay. Naruto, your training with Jiraiya will start in a few days, he has to take care of something outside the village and gather the materials to seal Tayuya's Curse Mark. Tayuya, your physical therapy starts tomorrow at 10am, don't be late. After your therapy is complete you will be assigned to Kakashi's Genin squad, filling the now vacant spot on the team."

"Wait… I'm replacing… _him_?" Tayuya asked, trying not to use Sasuke's name.

"Yes, I'm aware that you're abilities are above that of an average Genin, but you will still have to earn any higher rank. Do you have a problem with that?" Tsunade asked.

"Fuck no. I like having the chance to prove myself, and I can't wait to show that fucking fan-girl Sakura what a _real _kunoichi is," Tayuya replied with a grin.

"Well then it's settled, unless Kakashi wants to test Tayuya to see if she can work on a team," Tsunade stated as she looked at Kakashi.

"I don't see any reason to; Orochimaru selected her to be part of his elite team of bodyguards, which must mean something. I will of course have to run new training exercises since the group dynamic will be different now," Kakashi replied.

"Well then. I suggest that you two take the rest of the day to relax, or celebrate Tayuya's return to the world of non-cripples. I'm sure the others will be glad to hear the news," Tsunade suggested. A moment later the two young shinobi had left the room.

"Those two are growing on each other, "Jiraiya stated simply, Kakashi nodding in agreement.

"You could tell too?" Tsunade asked.

"Of course, it's in their body language. After three weeks they've become accustomed to having the other near them," Kakashi replied.

"I think Naruto is her only friend right now. He's somehow managed to get through that rough exterior of hers, they have a strong bond already, even if they aren't aware of it," Jiraiya added.

"That was quite a romantic thing to say Jiraiya," Tsunade said sarcastically.

"He does have his moments," Shizune added dryly.

They all shared a quite laugh at that statement. Tsunade then said, "I just hope he's able to get her to open up to the others and be friends with them as well. Otherwise it will destroy her when you take Naruto away for training, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya contemplated this for a moment before sighing, "I suppose I can postpone that for a while. I can train him here in Konoha at first, but a lot of what I have to train with him on is too dangerous to do anywhere near populated areas. We can only hold off on that for about a year, then I'll have to take him away for training."

Tsunade nodded before asking Kakashi, "You and the others are ready for tomorrow then?"

"Of course. And Jiraiya-sama will still be accompanying us as planned?" Kakashi asked in turn.

"Yeah, there's a good chance that snake has gotten wind of us finding his hide-outs; so there's a chance that he'll come go to the last one to prevent us from finding anything there. So I'm coming with you in case he shows up," Jiraiya answered.

All three were quiet once more before Kakashi spoke up, "Anyone else have a bad feeling about this?"

* * *

Once they got outside Naruto asked, "So what do you want to do now that you can walk again?"

"Hmm… I don't know. You'd think since I've had three fucking weeks to think about it I'd have a list of stuff I wanna do," Tayuya replied. Then her stomach growled so she suggested, "We could always have another rematch at Ichiraku's, as long as you're paying."

"Sounds good to me!" Naruto exclaimed as he started to run off towards Ichiraku's.

"Hey Shithead! I just started to walk again damn it, I can't fucking run yet!" Tayuya yelled after him, attracting the attention of several passerby's.

Naruto froze in place with a sheepish laugh and replied, "Sorry Tayuya, I guess I got excited and forgot."

As Tayuya caught up with him she smacked him in the back of the head and said, "Well don't fucking do it again Shithead. Now let's go, I'm fucking starving."

As they were walking at a slow pace (so Tayuya would not get too tired) Naruto realized something: he had no idea what kind of fighter Tayuya was. It had never come up in conversation and he hadn't asked Shikamaru or Temari when she was in town. "Hey Tayuya, I'm gonna sound stupid for asking this but since we're going to be on the same squad I should ask, what kind of fighter are you?" he asked warily.

"I never told you?" she asked in turn. When Naruto shook his head she continued, "I'm a Genjutsu specialist, and have some long range attacks… I'm okay in Taijutsu, but I try to avoid close range combat if I can. But I don't know how much use I'll be now that I think about it…"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked in a confused tone.

"My flute was destroyed by Temari's Summon," Tayuya replied sadly.

"Your flute?" Naruto again asked, even more confused than before.

"My Genjutsu use sound to attack the enemy, I had a flute that I used for that, and my Summon is useless without that… It was my mother's flute, it was the only thing I had left to remember her by," Tayuya explained, with tears forming in her eyes.

"Tayuya…" Naruto started to speak, but she held up a hand to silence him.

"I'll be okay. Besides, this isn't the time or place to talk about it, let's eat," she stated simply. Naruto looked up, and to his surprise they had already arrived at Ichiraku's.

Teuchi and Ayame welcomed the two, and quickly took note of Tayuya's improved condition. Tayuya couldn't help but smile when she talked to the ramen stand workers; she found them very pleasant to be around. While they were eating Tayuya reflected on the time she had spent living in Konoha, the place that until recently had been her sworn enemy. _'This place is so much different than Oto. The leader is a rough, but friendly and kind woman. The people all seem to be happy, walking through the streets, smiling, laughing, enjoying each other's company. Even the shinobi are friendly, at least from what I've seen so far… Nothing like what Orochimaru said it was. I have to say… I like it here more than I thought I would,'_ she thought to herself.

"Hey Tayuya, would you mind if I invited the others to hang out? I know you don't always get along with them, but I think in time you could be good friends with all of them," Naruto asked cautiously.

Tayuya thought about for a moment, her normal instinct would be to tell him not to invite them. But she realized that if she was going to live in Konoha, and be a kunoichi of Konoha, then she should learn to get along with her new comrades. "Sure, go ahead and invite them Shithead," she replied in her usual rough tone, though Naruto new she didn't mean anything by it.

Naruto then made several Kage Bunshin and sent them to retrieve his friends and tell them to meet him and Tayuya at the park near the river. Naruto and Tayuya didn't have to wait long before they started to arrive, and eventually everyone had gathered, each of them encouraging Tayuya to keep at it and she'd soon be back to normal.

When everyone had gathered Tayuya spoke up, "Okay listen up, I've got some fucking news!" When everyone had been silenced she announced, "After my physical therapy is complete, I will become a kunoichi of Konoha."

Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, and Chouji all looked very concerned with this news, but Naruto nodding at them alleviated their concern: they trusted his judgment of Tayuya by this point. Ino, Sakura, and Hinata all looked a bit happy, they were determined to get through Tayuya's rough and tough exterior and make her their friend.

"You are? For real?" Sakura asked.

"Yep, Baa-chan has it all arraigned. You're looking at the new member of Squad 3," Tayuya replied with a smirk.

Sakura gasped slightly and asked, "You mean… you're replacing Sasuke-kun?"

"Yeah, Baa-chan assigned me to your and Naruto's team for now, since it's the only Genin squad with a vacancy," Tayuya replied, trying her best not to snap at Sakura about Sasuke, not on this happy day.

"Well… I guess that was a good idea, we did need a third member of the team," Sakura replied carefully.

Naruto sighed in relief when that didn't result in an argument, he didn't want Tayuya to be upset anymore than talking about her flute had made her. He then had an idea, one that he was sure was even better than buying Tayuya pocky to cheer her up, but he would need Shikamaru's help.

As the day progressed Tayuya started to loosen up a bit, and occasionally laughed or smiled at something said or done by somebody, though it was still a rare occurrence. Her scowl seemed like it was plastered to her face when she was around people she didn't really know.

Naruto pulled Shikamaru off to side and said, "Shikamaru, I need your help with something."

"What is it Naruto?" he asked with a bored tone.

"Do you remember the flute that Tayuya had when you and Temari fought her?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Of course I remember that thing, her Genjutsu are nightmares and almost unavoidable because of it. Why?" Shikamaru replied.

"Because it was apparently destroyed by Temari's Summon, and it belonged to her mother at one point, I need your help replacing it," Naruto answered in a whisper.

"It belonged to her mother…" Shikamaru trailed off as he turned his attention to Tayuya. He sighed and continued, "That's why she's in such a crappy mood right?"

"Yeah, so will you help me?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru sighed deeply before replying, "You are one of the most troublesome people I know… but yeah, I'll help."

Naruto smiled and then made his way over to where Tayuya was sitting and asked, "How're you feeling?"

"Eh. I'm okay, but my legs feel like they're made of fucking goo. I can't wait until I'm back to normal," Tayuya replied.

Naruto nodded, if she was too tired to walk right now then that only helped him. "Shikamaru and I have to go take care of something, we'll be back soon. You stay here with the others and rest your legs okay?" Naruto said.

"Wait what the fuck? You're just taking the hell off and leaving me here alone?" Tayuya asked in an irritated, almost panicked tone.

"I'm not leaving you alone, everyone will still be here, right guys?" Naruto turned and asked his friends. They all answered with an affirmative.

Tayuya thought for a moment and replied, "Alright… just don't take too long Shithead. I don't wanna be alone with all of them for too long."

"Got it. We won't be gone long, maybe an hour at the most. Be back soon everybody!" Naruto exclaimed, and then he and Shikamaru took off towards an area of the city where they would find a music shop.

Sakura walked up to Tayuya and asked her, "Did he say where they were going in such a hurry?"

"No, he just said they'd be back soon," Tayuya replied solemnly. _'Why do I feel so down now that he isn't here? I should be relieved that I get some time away from Shithead… but I just feel lousy now…'_ she thought to herself.

"I can't believe you put up with living with him. I'd go crazy within the first few days," Ino stated jokingly, which everyone got a laugh from, including Tayuya.

"He can be annoying at times… but he's a good guy. I can honestly say he's the first real friend I've had in years," Tayuya stated before she even realized what she had said. _'Is that why I feel so down with him not here? Because he's my first real friend?' _she thought to herself.

Everyone was stunned by what she had said, and surprisingly, it was Kiba that broke the silence, "He is a good guy, kinda dim-witted sometimes, but a good guy. Sometimes I think he can make even his worst enemy into a friend… though I doubt it would work on Orochimaru. But know this Tayuya: we're your comrades now, and we can be your friends as well."

"That's right."

"What he said."

"You're not alone."

"…" *nod*

"Friendship fuels the FLames of youTH!"

"He changed me, so I'll give it a shot."

"Definitely."

"I'll have to show you more restaurants besides Ichiraku's."

At all of them confirming what Kiba had said, Tayuya closed her eyes for a moment, smiled, and replied, "Thank you."

* * *

Naruto and Shikamaru, after asking around a bit, found the best seller or musical instruments in Konoha, and were looking at the various flutes they had in stock.

"Okay so remind me why I'm here," Shikamaru said irritably.

"Because I want to get her one similar to the one she had, and since you're the only one around who's seen it…" Naruto trailed off.

"Alright I get it, hold on," Shikamaru replied as he scanned through the flutes. Eventually he saw the one that most closely resembled Tayuya's old one. As he pointed to it he said, "That's as close as you're going to get without getting an exact duplicate."

Since it was behind the counter Naruto got the attention of the clerk, who was also the owner of the shop and asked how much that flute cost. "My my, you have an excellent eye for instruments young man. That particular flute is one of a set of two that were the last ones made by a master musician about fifteen years ago," the older woman replied.

"Wait, did you say they were a set? Then where's the other one?" Shikamaru asked, finding it odd that this flute so closely resembled the one he had seen Tayuya use.

"Last I heard it was stolen from the man who purchased it. He was visiting a small town in River Country, not too far from the border. It's been lost ever since," the woman replied.

"How much do you want for it?" Naruto asked quickly, surprising both the shop owner and Shikamaru.

"Now young man, this flute is essentially one of a kind. I doubt you could afford it," the woman said in a patronizing tone.

"How much?" Naruto repeated.

"Nothing less than 500,000," she stated.

Shikamaru gaped at the price, but Naruto simply stated, "Okay then." And then proceeded to pull out a bill for that exact amount.

"No way…" the woman gasped.

"Yes way, I believe that flute has just been purchased," Naruto replied with a smirk.

As they were leaving the store, with the flute safely tucked out of sight, Shikamaru asked, "What was that all about? I'm sure you could have found a cheaper flute."

"Tayuya's old flute was the other one of that set," Naruto replied confidently.

"How do you know that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Tayuya told me she was originally from River Country, she lived in a small town near the border, and her mother was always short on money. So I believe that her mother stole the other flute, intending to sell it, but after she saw how much Tayuya liked it, gave it to her instead," Naruto explained.

Shikamaru thought about it for a moment before admitting, "Well… that actually makes sense. I guess getting her the other one from the set was the right thing to do then."

* * *

Tayuya was starting to get antsy. Naruto had been gone almost an hour and there was still no sign of him or Shikamaru. After Kiba had made his little speech, and the others had chimed in, she felt more comfortable around them than before, but she still wanted to go home and rest after what felt like a long day.

Just before her temper blew, Naruto and Shikamaru arrived. Naruto looked over at her and said, "Sorry it took so long, but we're all set now."

"Okay then. Can we go back to the house? I really just wanna lay down and rest for a while," Tayuya said in a tired voice.

"Sure, the rest of you don't mind if we take off do you?" Naruto asked the group. When they all replied in the negative, Naruto turned to her and nodded. They started on their way, but as soon as they were out of sight Tayuya whined slightly as her legs refused to move. Seeing this, Naruto walked up to her, turned around, and bent down.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Tayuya asked, even though she knew exactly what he was doing.

"Get on my back, I'll carry you back to the house so you can rest," Naruto replied simply.

"Do you want me to shove this crutch up your ass Shithead?" Tayuya asked with poison in her voice.

Naruto sighed and replied, "Tayuya, if you let me carry you we can get to the house faster and you can rest. Plus I have something at the house that you're going to love even more than your pocky."

Tayuya was conflicted: she wanted to rest her legs so bad, but her pride refused to let Naruto carry her, and now he was trying to bribe her with the promise of something waiting at the house. She finally said, "Okay fine. But you are never to tell anyone I let you do this. Got it Shithead?"

"Okay, fair enough," he replied. With that they took off towards the house.

A few moments later they arrived in front of the house and Tayuya spoke up, "Okay now let me down. NOW."

"Alright alright. Home sweet home, now you can rest until you're ready to move about again," Naruto replied as he let her down and then unlocked the door.

As they entered the house Tayuya made her way to the couch that had been her bed for the last two weeks, and then flopped down on it. "Oh my fucking god it feels so could to be able to lay down without those shitty casts!" she exclaimed with a smile on her face.

Naruto laughed at her exclamation before saying, "You know there's another bedroom upstairs you can stay in now right?"

"Yeah I know. I just don't think I'm up for tackling the fucking stairs just yet. So what was this thing you said I'd like more than pocky? Is it why you and Shikamaru had to leave?" she asked in a curious tone.

"Yep, it's upstairs. Be right back," Naruto replied as he began ascending the stairs. Tayuya just lay on the couch waiting for him to come back downstairs, less than two minutes later he returned carrying a long, thin wooden case. "Alright, here you go Tayuya," he said with a smile as he handed it to her.

Tayuya looked at it warily, the case itself looked expensive. She didn't know how she felt about somebody getting her expensive gifts. "Uh… what is this?" she asked after a moment.

"Just open it; you'll be happy with it. And it will help your Genjutsu," Naruto replied confidently.

Tayuya slowly opened the case, and when it was fully open she gasped at what she saw: the flute was the length of her forearm which made it slightly longer than her old one, the metal was pristine which gave it a bright silver shine, it had musical notes etched into the metal, and for some reason there was an etching of a fox near the mouthpiece. Eyes still wide, she gently took the flute out of its case to better examine it, she couldn't get over how much it resembled the one her mother had given her. She raised the mouthpiece to her lips and tested the sound the flute produced, and as she expected a mellow, haunting note filled the quiet house.

Before she could say anything Naruto said, "I know it's not your mother's, and I know nothing could possibly replace that one… But this one was made by the same person who made that one, they were a set. I figured that the only other flute you should use is the sister flute of your mother's."

Naruto never saw her move, so he was greatly surprised when he was suddenly locked in a tight embrace. Tayuya had thrown her arms around his neck, the flute still in hand. Naruto hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist and returned the embrace.

"Thank you Naruto," Tayuya gasped out as tears formed in her eyes. Naruto felt the tears drip onto his shoulder as she added, "Thank you so much Naruto."

Naruto smiled at the fact that she once again referred to him by his name, but decided against saying anything about it. "You're welcome Tayuya," he replied simply.

* * *

"So… how is our new comrade adjusting to life here?" A raspy voice asked the man who had just entered the lab.

"He's very impatient. Making demands that you start training him immediately," the younger man replied.

"I figured that would happen, it's that Uchiha arrogance of his. I'll break him of that eventually. Kabuto, tell him that I will start training him in a week, and if he does not like that then he can go back to Konoha," Orochimaru stated.

Kabuto smirked at that and replied, "Of course my lord, is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Have the Akatsuki made any other moves anywhere?" Orochimaru inquired.

"As of now they are simply extending their reach, but are trying to avoid causing any disturbances for. According to Sasori their leader says they will be ready to make their move in about three years," Kabuto answered.

"Three years… how very convenient. That also gives me time to locate the Jinchuuriki before they do. And what of Konoha? Are they still raiding my Fire Nation hide-outs?" Orochimaru asked with an edge to his voice.

"Yes my lord… all but one has been raided and destroyed," Kabuto replied cautiously.

Orochimaru swore under his breath before saying, "Very well. Then I have no choice: you and I will head to that hide-out tomorrow to salvage anything of use before Konoha gets to it."

"Yes Orochimaru-sama, I'll make the preparations at once," Kabuto stated as he left the room.

Now that he was alone Orochimaru thought to himself, _'I don't know how Konoha found the location of all of my Fire Nation hide-outs… but they won't get what's in that one.'_

"I'm overworking myself… running a country, countering Konoha's actions, preparing Sasuke-kun for the body transfer, and trying to come up with a plan to stop Akatsuki's plans. I'll never think bad about Sensei's complaining of being tired again," Orochimaru said to himself with a dry laugh.

**Once again I am terribly sorry for the long delay, but I think this extra long chapter kinda makes up for it. This is by the far the longest chapter in the story. Please Review!**


	12. Chapter 11: Don't Go Looking for Snakes

**I have returned.**

**The Fox and The Flute**

**Chapter 11: Don't Go Looking for Snakes**

The serenity of the forest was barely disturbed as four of the best shinobi that Konoha had to offer rushed through the trees, jumping from branch to branch. They were the three Jonin sensei of the Rookie 9: Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, and Kakashi Hatake. Accompanying them was Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin. They had left Konoha at dawn on their mission to investigate the last of Orochimaru's hideouts in the Fire Country that Tayuya had known about, and were nearing their destination.

"I still have a bad feeling about this Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi said the older shinobi.

"You always have a bad feeling about missions Kakashi," Asuma interjected.

Kakashi shot him a deadpan glare and replied, "That's because things tend to go wrong from my experience."

"I have the same feeling Kakashi. I have very little doubt that Orochimaru has something in store for us. He isn't one to let his hideouts be raided and destroyed with no retaliation," Jiraiya stated solemnly.

"That's true, but with you here with us Jiraiya-sama I'm sure we can handle whatever he throws at us," Kurenai added confidently.

Jiraiya's reply was empty of his usual cheer as he said, "Do not underestimate Orochimaru, on the off chance he actually shows his own face up ahead we'll be in for one hell of a fight."

The three Jonin didn't reply other than nodding their heads, the idea of fighting one of the Sannin, especially the one who had been praised as the prodigy of the three. The four remained silent as they came within a few miles of their destination, lest they alert any enemies to their approach.

As they looked down to where the entrance had been marked on the map by Tayuya, all they saw was a stone outcropping. "Is this the wrong place?" Asuma asked quietly.

Jiraiya rechecked the map and replied just as quietly, "No, this the place indicated on the map. She did say she had never actually been to this hideout, but she knew its location in case she needed to go here."

"The entrance may be hidden with a Genjutsu," Kurenai stated, then turned to Kakashi and asked, "Think your Sharingan can see through it?"

"I'll give it a shot," Kakashi replied. He shifted his forehead protector off of his left eye, and focused his Sharingan on where the map said the entrance should be. Within a few moments part of the outcropping faded from his view, revealing a heavy metal door. "The large rock in the center isn't real, it's concealing the entrance," Kakashi informed the others.

"Do you see anything else down there Kakashi?" Asuma asked.

Kakashi took a few moments to sweep the rest of the area with his Sharingan, but did not see anything else concealed by Genjutsu. "Nothing hidden by Genjutsu, but that doesn't mean there aren't more rudimentary traps around here," he replied.

"Alright, we're going to do a sweep of the area for traps, and then Kurenai will undo the Genjutsu, we don't know if it has a secondary function," Jiraiya stated as an order. They all nodded before splitting into separate directions to search for traps. After twenty minutes they regrouped in front of the rock formation and Jiraiya said, "Alright Kurenai, start on undoing this Genjutsu."

She nodded simply before starting her work. Asuma spoke up by asking, "Isn't a bit odd that we didn't find any traps around here?"

"Not if Orochimaru was trying to keep a low profile and keep this base of his hidden. For that purpose, the Genjutsu alone is enough. Traps would alert people that there's something here to find," Kakashi replied.

"That's right. If he was operating here in Fire Country, Orochimaru would definitely want to remain undetected," Jiraiya concurred. They remained silent for the rest of the time it took Kurenai to undo the Genjutsu that was concealing the entrance. Once it was finished they gathered around and Jiraiya went over their plan one more time, "Alright: Kakashi will take point with his Sharingan, I'll be right behind him in order to back him up if need be. Kurenai I want you a bit behind us, far enough back that you can react to us being attack with one of your Genjutsu. And Asuma, I want you right behind Kurenai, to protect her and cover the rear so we don't get blindsided. Understood?"

They all nodded in agreeance and moved into position before making their way to the entrance. "How are you feeling about this Kurenai?" Asuma asked quietly.

"About as well as can be expected, but with Jiraiya-sama here I feel better about this mission," she replied just as quietly.

"How about if this goes well, you join me for dinner?" Asuma asked hopefully.

Kurenai smirked slightly before replying, "We'll see." With that the four shinobi entered the underground base.

* * *

After Naruto had given Tayuya the flute, the rest of their day had gone by relatively uneventfully. Tayuya had been exhausted from the effort of using her legs for the first time in a month and had fallen asleep on the couch fairly early. Naruto had made sure that she was comfortable before heading upstairs himself; he was surprised to find himself tired as well.

The next day found Tayuya back at the hospital for the first day of her physical therapy to regain the strength in her legs with Shizune over-seeing.

"God fucking dammit!" Tayuya shouted in frustration. They had started off slow, and moved on to gradually more difficult exercises to see what her limits were right now. She was currently trying to repeatedly push a sliding weight up with her legs. The weight weighed twenty five pounds, and she had pushed it up just over a dozen times before she felt her legs give out and she couldn't lift it anymore.

"It's alright Tayuya, now we know what you can do right now. You should be back to normal in just a few weeks. I'll set up a therapy plan that we'll start two days from now, and you'll come back every other day so that you have a day in-between each session to let your legs rest. Once your legs are stronger we'll change the schedule so you'll come in every day until you're back to top condition," Shizune stated as she finished writing a few notes on her clipboard.

"Sounds good to me, I can't fucking wait until I can push that weight up with one leg and break it off of that thing like I should be able to," Tayuya replied as she gave the weight a death glare.

Shizune chuckled to herself as she said, "I'm sure you'll make that weight rue the day it crossed you."

Tayuya laughed evilly to herself as she replied, "Damn right I will, it won't fucking know what hit it!"

"Naruto better watch himself. Who knows what you'll do to him once you're back in top condition, you might end up putting him in the hospital," Shizune stated.

"Oh I know what I'll do to Shithead if he pisses me off," Tayuya replied with a smirk.

* * *

Back at the house he had been staying in with Tayuya, Naruto was in the fenced in training area in the back with Shikamaru. He had been practicing using the Rasengan with one hand, with Shikamaru giving pointers he thought might help, while looking over the scrolls detailing the technique. Naruto was about to try again when he suddenly sneezed very loudly. "Ugh… Where did that come from?" Naruto asked himself.

"Maybe somebody was talking about you just now," Shikamaru paused as he looked over the scrolls again, "I knew the Rasengan was a complex jutsu, but I had no idea it was this troublesome."

"Yeah it can be a real pain, but it's worth it once you get the hang of it. But I still need my clones in order to use it, it's meant to be used with just one hand. My way is too slow, which could cost me in battle," Naruto replied solemnly.

Shikamaru looked at his friend thoughtfully, _'He's been different ever since he fought Sasuke… He's still Naruto, but he's a bit more reserved and he… Well he thinks more than before.' _Just as Naruto was about to try forming the Rasengan again something dawned on Shikamaru and he asked, "Hey Naruto… Weren't you supposed to be at the hospital five minutes ago to get Tayuya?"

Naruto paused as Shikamaru asked this, and his eyes slowly widened before he shouted, "SHIT!"

* * *

Tayuya was sitting on the bench outside the hospital's front entrance with Shizune by her side, and an angry frown forming on her face. "I'm going to kick his fucking ass," she stated simply.

They soon heard the sound of rapid foot beats drawing closer very quickly, accompanied by panicked shouts of, "Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Tayuya then very calmly leaned down in order to pick up a good sized rock, sat back up, and began tossing it up and catching it. As soon as Naruto came running around the corner she threw the rock with deadly accuracy and hit him in the exact center of his forehead. The sound of stone striking metal rang out and Naruto fell flat on his back. "YOU'RE LATE SHITHEAD!" Tayuya yelled out in frustration.

Naruto got to his feet and made his way to the bench where he proceeded to try to explain why he had been late, which only caused Tayuya to curse him out again. As Shizune observed this, a smile began to form on her face and she thought to herself, _'They really are growing on each other. If she had wanted to, Tayuya could have knocked him out with that rock, but she aimed for his forehead protector, it only stunned him for a second.'_ She was snapped out of her thoughts by the two saying goodbye to her, and beginning to leave.

"So how did it go today?" Naruto was asking Tayuya as he walked besides her in case she lost her balance.

"Not bad, we figured out a schedule for my therapy, and I should be back to normal in a couple weeks," Tayuya replied as she slowly walked using her crutch to help support her weight.

Naruto replied with a loud, cheerful voice, "That's great!"

A smile formed on Tayuya's face as she added, "Yes it is! What were you up to while I was here?"

"Shikamaru stopped by while I practiced using the Rasengan with one hand, he looked the scrolls over and gave me some advice he thought might help. I didn't make much progress today though, it'll be easier with Kakashi-sensei or Ero-sennin helping me, since they can both do it," Naruto replied.

As the two walked away, continuing to talk about how their day had been so far, Shizune thought to herself_ with a smile_, _'I wonder if Tsunade-sama knows what she's done by making those two spend so much time together…"_

* * *

Jiraiya, Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai had been making their way through the base for about twenty minutes and had only come across a couple of rooms. They were proceeding cautiously so they wouldn't miss anything, or accidently trigger a trap. Unknown to the four shinobi, they were being watched from the moment they had entered the base.

"I didn't expect Jiraiya to come with whoever they sent, and I must say that Tsunade sent quite the elite team," Orochimaru mused as he watched the monitor.

Kabuto was silent for a moment before stating, "She must have thought that you would send a team here as well, won't they be in for a surprise?"

Orochimaru chuckled darkly before he replied, "Indeed. But the fact that Jiraiya is with them presents a problem. Even I wouldn't try to take them all on, even with you as backup because of him being here. It will be in our best interest to split them up, and they're own formation has saved us the trouble." He chuckled again as he finished his statement.

"You're right Orochimaru-sama, as usual. Asuma and Kurenai are far enough back from Jiraiya and Kakashi that it should be quite easy to separate them into two groups," Kabuto observed.

"I will take Jiraiya and Kakashi; I trust you can handle the other two?" Orochimaru asked flatly as he rose from the chair he had been sitting in.

Kabuto smirked slightly before he responded, "Of course Orochimaru-sama. Konoha still doesn't know what I'm capable of, but I know what Asuma and Kurenai can do, I have the tactical advantage."

Orochimaru smirked as he said, "That's what I expect from you, let's be on our way." With that said they both made their way out of the room to confront the intruders from Konoha.

* * *

The Konoha shinobi were proceeding at a slightly quicker pace now, but still being cautious. Jiraiya signaled them all to stop where they were as he heard a low rumble come from beneath them.

"What is it Jiraiya-sama?" Kakashi asked quietly.

"I thought I heard something, a rumbling sound…" Jiraiya trailed off as he tried to see if he could hear it again. Asuma was about to speak up when suddenly the walls closed off, cutting him and Kurenai off from Jiraiya and Kakashi. Jiraiya managed to shout, "Son of a bitch!" before the floor beneath him and Kakashi dropped out and they found themselves sliding down a perfectly smooth chute.

"Jiraiya-sama! Kakashi!" Kurenai shouted through the wall as they heard their shouts of surprise fade away.

Asuma channeled his chakra into his chakra blades and sliced the wall apart, only to reveal that their comrades were gone, with no sign of where they had gone. "Dammit!" he shouted, "This is bad, we have to find them."

Before Kurenai could reply, a voice spoke from behind them, "I'd say you should worry more about yourselves at the moment."

They turned around to see Kabuto standing about ten feet away, with a smug look on his face. "Kabuto…" Kurenai stated simply.

"The one and only," Kabuto replied darkly.

* * *

Kakashi and Jiraiya slid down the chute for about a minute, before they landed on a stone floor with a solid thump. As they got back to their feet Kakashi stated, "And Asuma thought I was being paranoid…"

"Well to be fair Kakashi… You kinda are," Jiraiya replied with an attempt at humor.

Before Kakashi could argue that observation his Sharingan caught a faint glint and sudden movement off to side and he shouted, "Get down!" Both of them managed to duck underneath an impossibly long sword blade at the last second, and when they looked up two snakes shot from the darkness at them. Before either snake got within five feet of them Kakashi had hit them each with a kunai, pinning them to the far wall.

A low chuckle echoed to them from the shadows, before a man they both immediately recognized walked out of the darkness right in front of them and said, "I didn't expect to kill you two that easily, and honestly, I'm glad I didn't."

"Orochimaru… I knew you might show yourself, but I was hoping you wouldn't," Jiraiya said in a flat tone, any hint of his usual enthusiasm was gone. Orochimaru simply smirked in response, daring them to attack him.

"How does that saying go Kakashi? Don't go looking for snakes…." Jiraiya trailed off as he got into a fighting stance.

Kakashi finished while he also got into a stance, "You might find them."

**Yes I am being evil. Hope you enjoyed, please Review!**


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